Yahoo Sports’ 26-and-under power rankings are a remix on the traditional farm system rankings that assess the strength of MLB organizations’ talent base among rookie-eligible and MiLB players. While focusing on strictly prospects can be a useful proxy for projecting how bright an organization’s future is, it fails to account for young players already contributing at the big-league level.
By evaluating the strength of all players in an organization entering their age-26 seasons or younger, this exercise aims to paint a more complete picture of each team’s young core. These rankings value productive young big leaguers more heavily than prospects who have yet to prove it at the highest level, and the majority of the prospects included in teams’ evaluations are those who have already reached the upper levels of the minor leagues.
To compile these rankings, each MLB organization was given a score in four categories:
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Young MLB hitters: 26-and-under position players and rookie-eligible hitters projected to be on Opening Day rosters; scored 0-10
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Young MLB pitchers: 26-and-under pitchers and rookie-eligible pitchers projected to be on Opening Day rosters; scored 0-10
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Prospect hitters: prospect-eligible position players projected to reach MLB in the next 1-2 years; scored 0-5
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Prospect pitchers: prospect-eligible pitchers projected to reach MLB in the next 1-2 years; scored 0-5
We’re counting down all 30 organizations’ 26-and-under talent bases from weakest to strongest leading up to Opening Day, diving into five teams at a time. We covered Nos. 30-26, Nos. 25-21 and Nos. 20-16 last week and reached the top half with Nos. 15-11 on Monday.
Next up are teams Nos. 10-6.
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More rankings: Nos. 30-26, starting with the Phillies | Nos. 25-21: Young cores on the rise | Nos. 20-16, starring Bobby Witt Jr. | Nos. 15-11: Young superstars powering contenders
10. Washington Nationals (total score: 18/30) | 2024 rank: 19
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Young MLB hitters (8/10): SS CJ Abrams, OF Dylan Crews, OF James Wood, 2B Luis Garcia Jr., OF Jacob Young, C Keibert Ruiz, INF Jose Tena
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Young MLB pitchers (5/10): LHP MacKenzie Gore, LHP Jose Ferrer, LHP Mitchell Parker, RHP Evan Reifert, LHP DJ Herz
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Prospect hitters (2/5): SS Brady House, OF Robert Hassell III, SS Seaver King, 3B Cayden Wallace, 3B Yohandy Morales
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Prospect pitchers (3/5): RHP Cade Cavalli, RHP Jarlin Susana, RHP Travis Sykora, RHP Andry Lara
Abrams and Gore, the two headliners in the Juan Soto deal, are both entering their third full season in D.C. Both players have shown tantalizing glimpses — Abrams was an All-Star last year, Gore had a 2.91 ERA and the third-best K/9 in the NL at the end of May — but neither has sustained that elite performance over a full season. Abrams needs to stop chasing so often and find a way to improve his crummy shortstop defense. Gore is still searching for a solution to his struggles against right-handed hitters. Both look like players the Nats can win with, but are they players the Nats can win because of? That remains to be seen. We’re more bullish on Abrams, just because the speedster, still only 24, has more developmental runway left.
The other massive storyline for the 2025 Nats revolves around how the much-hyped outfield tandem of Crews and Wood handles big-league pitching across a full season. Both players debuted last year — Wood tallied 336 plate appearances, while Crews had just 132 — and gave us no reason to change their projections as future perennial All-Stars. Wood, who was part of the Soto trade, struggled to elevate the baseball but showcased impressive exit velocities and walked more than any other first-year player. Crews had poor batted-ball luck but generally hit the snot out of it and wreaked havoc on the bases. Given the offensive competency that Young, a light-hitting defensive wizard, delivered last year, neither Crews nor Wood will need to play center field just yet. That should allow them to focus on adapting to MLB arms.
The continued backsliding of Ruiz’s profile is the only major cause for concern among this group of young hitters. Acquired from the Dodgers in the Max Scherzer/Trea Turner deal, the Venezuelan backstop makes a boatload of contact but is a butcher behind the dish and can’t really drive the baseball. You know the saying “the ball makes a different sound off his bat”? That’s the case here, except it’s an underwhelming sound. Signed to an extension through 2030, Ruiz will get every opportunity to figure it out in D.C., but there might come a time when the Nats need to cut bait on their former catcher of the future.
On the pitching side, we’re irrationally optimistic about Ferrer, who was the second-hardest throwing lefty in baseball last season, behind Aroldis Chapman. Just 24, the Dominican reliever is still learning how to convert his fuel into strikeouts, but we’ll bet big on a southpaw with 98 mph heat. If he can keep the walk rate manageable, this is what an All-Star late-inning dude looks like.
Speaking of dumb heat, let’s talk about Susana and Sykora. The Nats caught a lot of flack last spring when a sign at their complex that read “I don’t care how fast you throw ball four” went viral. Ironically, they have two of the hardest-throwing arms in the minors. Susana, another piece in the Soto deal, is built like a pro-bowl defensive end and sat 100 mph last year. He could be an impact piece in Washington’s bullpen right now, but the organization is intent on developing him as a starter. I watched him dice apart the top of the Nats’ big-league lineup in a live BP a few weeks ago, and it’s probably the best raw stuff in the minors right now. Sykora, still 20 years old, isn’t as filled out as Susana but is similarly enormous. A classic big, lanky Texas high school pitching prospect, Sykora dominated in 2024, his first minor-league season but has a few more years of marinating before he gets to D.C.
Altogether, it’s a fascinating time in Nats Land, as the seeds of that franchise-altering Soto trade are finally starting to blossom. And frankly, it’s about time. No team has lost more baseball games since the end of 2019, which ended with a Nats World Series title. This group is probably another year from truly contending, but the Wood/Crews/Susana core is something to get excited about. — J.M.
9. Cleveland Guardians (total score: 18/30) | 2024 rank: 5
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Young MLB hitters (4/10): SS Brayan Rocchio, C Bo Naylor, 1B Kyle Manzardo, OF Jhonkensy Noel, INF Gabriel Arias, INF/OF Angel Martinez, OF Tyler Freeman, OF Johnathan Rodriguez
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Young MLB pitchers (9/10): RHP Tanner Bibee, RHP Gavin Williams, RHP Luis L. Ortiz, RHP Cade Smith, RHP Andrew Walters, RHP Slade Cecconi
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Prospect hitters (4/5): 2B Travis Bazzana, 2B Juan Brito, OF Chase DeLauter, 1B CJ Kayfus, C Cooper Ingle, SS Angel Genao, OF Jaison Chourio
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Prospect pitchers (1/5): LHP Joey Cantillo, LHP Doug Nikhazy, LHP Parker Messick, LHP Matt Wilkinson, RHP Austin Peterson
Cleveland’s well-earned reputation as one of MLB’s “pitching factories” manifested most obviously in the bullpen in 2024, with the collective breakout of the unheralded trio of Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin and Smith as a sensational supporting cast for closer Emmanuel Clase. Smith is the only one of this elite quartet young enough to be included in this project (though all four are still in their 20s), but he also might be the best of the bunch: He led all relievers in fWAR last season, and his fastball grades out as one of baseball’s most dominant individual offerings. Walters also has a fantastic heater that could earn him high-leverage opportunities if last year’s bullpen endures some regression moving forward.
As impressive as the bullpen breakouts have been, the Guardians will also look to regain some momentum with the development of their starting pitching, which faltered on many occasions last year, with the exception of Bibee. Bibee remains a steady anchor at or near the top of the rotation, an encore of sorts to Shane Bieber as a West Coast strike-thrower whose stuff ticked up in pro ball as he became a legit impact starting pitcher. That said, huge steps back from Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen left the Guardians perilously thin in the rotation for long stretches of last year. Cleveland is now counting on the hard-throwing Williams to rediscover his rookie form after an injury-marred 2024 and expecting big things from offseason acquisition Ortiz, who was quietly stellar for Pittsburgh in the second half last year. Cecconi, another raw but talented righty acquired this winter, could also be competing for rotation opportunities but might fit best in the bullpen long-term.
Much like their division rival Detroit, Cleveland relied on a ton of young position players throughout its push to and through the postseason in 2024. The switch-hitting Rocchio plays a great shortstop and looked like a different hitter in October, but his regular-season offensive track record is lackluster. Noel is already a fan favorite, thanks to his memorable ALCS swing and delightful “Big Christmas” moniker, but he’s still working on translating his gigantic raw power into consistent production. Manzardo looks like a reliable every-day bat, albeit with minimal defensive value. The organization still has immense confidence that Naylor can be their franchise catcher, but 2024 was a marked step in the wrong direction with the bat. It’s important to be patient with young backstops, though; their jobs are ridiculously hard.
If this current crop of big leaguers doesn’t develop further, there are alluring alternatives populating Cleveland’s upper minors. Recurring foot injuries have hampered DeLauter to a troubling degree, but he has looked like a game-changing hitter when on the field, and he should be in Cleveland’s lineup at some point in 2025. Brito appears nearly big-league-ready at second base, with last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Bazzana, not far behind as another impact lefty stick in the infield. Ingle is one of baseball’s most underrated catching prospects.
Genao hit .330 across both levels of A-ball as a 20-year-old last year, the fourth-highest batting average of any minor-league hitter with at least 450 plate appearances. And yes, that’s Jackson’s little brother, Jaison Chourio, who stole 44 bases and walked more than he struck out as a 19-year-old center fielder in Low-A in 2024. While we’ve generally avoided spotlighting prospects who have yet to reach Double-A, Genao and Chourio are the kind of advanced bats who have the skill sets to move quickly through the system and thus warrant a mention. — J.S.
8. Pittsburgh Pirates (total score: 18/30) | 2024 rank: 18
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Young MLB hitters (3/10): OF Oneil Cruz, 2B Nick Gonzales, C Endy Rodriguez, C Henry Davis, OF Ji-Hwan Bae, OF Jack Suwinski
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Young MLB pitchers (10/10): RHP Paul Skenes, RHP Jared Jones, RHP Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP Kyle Nicolas, RHP Johan Oviedo
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Prospect hitters (1/5): 2B/OF Nick Yorke, 2B Termarr Johnson, SS Jack Brannigan
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Prospect pitchers (4/5): RHP Bubba Chandler, RHP Thomas Harrington, RHP Braxton Ashcraft, RHP Mike Burrows, LHP Hunter Barco
That Skenes fella sure makes a difference, huh? Pittsburgh surges into the top 10 thanks to the mind-blowing ascent of the generational right-hander and an army of talented arms behind him. Skenes almost single-handedly earns the Pirates a perfect score in our young pitching category, as the 22-year-old started the All-Star Game, finished third in Cy Young voting as a rookie and is under team control for another five seasons. There simply isn’t a more valuable pitcher on the planet than Skenes at this moment, and it’s ludicrous to think about just how much better he could get when considering how far he has come so quickly. Pittsburgh’s No. 1 pick in 2023 has changed their franchise in a profound way — now it’s a matter of taking advantage of Skenes’ presence on the roster.
It’s not just Skenes, though. Jones joined him in 2024 as another one of the more exciting rookie hurlers in the game, and if he can sustain his terrific stuff over a larger workload, he could be pushing to make All-Star Games soon as well. Mlodzinski and Nicolas have shown flashes of being quality bullpen options, and don’t forget about Oviedo: The big right-hander has an outstanding slider and made 32 starts for Pittsburgh in 2023 before Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2024. He’s now healthy and working his way back into the rotation mix.
Chandler headlines the next wave of Buccos arms, bringing an elite fastball on par with Skenes and Jones that has already overwhelmed hitters in the upper minors. Harrington offers more polish with a touch less velocity but a deeper arsenal and advanced command; he might be ready for a rotation role even sooner than Chandler. And there’s plenty more on the way, with the likes of Ashcraft and Burrows having reached Triple-A and more young arms progressing rapidly in the lower minors.
Balancing out our optimism on the mound is a healthy bit of skepticism regarding Pittsburgh’s collection of young bats and, perhaps most importantly, its ability to develop them into above-average big-league hitters. Cruz remains by far the most enticing of the bunch, a 6-foot-7 shortstop-turned-center-fielder with otherworldly raw power and perhaps the best arm of any position player in baseball. Cruz is a singular athlete whose astronomical potential will likely always outweigh his actual production, but it’s difficult to ignore the possibility that he puts it all together and becomes an absolute monster.
Beyond Cruz, it’s hard to identify a potential star player who isn’t still a ways away from the majors. Gonzales is a perfectly cromulent low-end regular at second base. Yorke projects to provide similar value with perhaps some outfield mixed in. Johnson might have a tad more upside as a lefty bat with plus plate discipline, but he’s also an undersized second baseman. Rodriguez is coming off Tommy John surgery, and Davis, the No. 1 pick in 2021, has yet to hit in the big leagues, and the Pirates have shown little interest in giving him the chance to prove he can. It’s an objectively shallow group, one that will need to improve across the board if the Pirates want to field an offense commensurate with what could be an elite starting staff in the not-so-distant future. — J.S.
7. Atlanta Braves (total score: 18/30) | 2024 rank: 2
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Young MLB hitters (4/10): OF Michael Harris II, OF Jarred Kelenic, SS Nick Allen
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Young MLB pitchers (9/10): RHP Spencer Strider, RHP Spencer Schwellenbach, RHP Bryce Elder
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Prospect hitters (2/5): C Drake Baldwin, SS Nacho Alvarez Jr., 3B David McCabe
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Prospect pitchers (3/5): RHP AJ Smith-Shawver, RHP Hurston Waldrep, RHP Drue Hackenberg, RHP Royber Salinas, RHP Rolddy Munoz
Last year, we had Atlanta ranked second, mostly thanks to the incomparable duo of Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider. But while Acuña aged out of this exercise and Strider is coming off a 2024 lost to injury, there’s still a lot to like about the young talent in Braves Country.
Like seemingly every other Brave, Harris missed a big chunk of time to injury last year, playing in just 110 games. The center fielder’s offensive production took a step back as well — he was more average than above average — but most of his underlying metrics point toward a rebound. And even if he’s only solid at the dish, Harris is such a game-changing defender that he’ll be a lock to provide around 4 WAR in a full, healthy season.
Schwellenbach was perhaps the most surprising, out-of-nowhere breakout pitcher in baseball in 2024. He went from not receiving an invite to MLB spring training to delivering 123⅔ innings of 3.34 ERA ball. Skenes and Chicago’s Shota Imanaga were the only rookie hurlers to compile a higher fWAR than the bushy-haired Michigander, who looks primed to settle in as a staple of Atlanta’s rotation post-Max Fried.
Let’s hop back for a second to Strider, who went down with an elbow injury just a few weeks into last season. Notably, he didn’t require a full Tommy John surgery, opting for something called an internal brace, which meant a swifter recovery timeline for the hard-throwing bohemian. Strider, who was arguably the sport’s best young pitcher before his injury, is tracking toward a late April big-league return.
Then there’s Smith-Shawver, a hard-throwing hurler with a fascinating developmental trajectory. A primary position player and big-time quarterback prospect in high school, AJSS has been focused full-time on pitching only since his 2021 draft year. That, perhaps, sheds important light on why he has struggled at times with command and consistency in the upper minors. He got a taste of the bigs each of the past two seasons but failed to stick. Still just 22, Smith-Shawver will show you four average-to-above offerings and sits in the mid-90s with a heater that features good ride. One day soon, it’s going to click for this guy, and the Braves will have yet another starter worthy of taking the ball in a playoff game.
Down on the farm, there’s not a ton of depth afoot, but Atlanta has a handful of high-end prospects likely to impact the big-league club this season. Baldwin is the very, very rare catcher who evaluators are confident will hit in the bigs. He’s still improving behind the dish, but the stocky, well-built 23-year-old has raked at every stop and needs to be merely solid back there. Given Sean Murphy’s grip on the every-day job and the lack of available DH at-bats due to Marcell Ozuna’s presence, expect Baldwin to spend a good chunk of 2025 in Triple-A before a mid-summer call-up. It’s extremely likely that he’ll eventually become the first Black every-day catcher since Charles Johnson in 2004. — J.M.
6. Milwaukee Brewers (total score: 18/30) | 2024 rank: 8
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Young MLB hitters (9/10): OF Jackson Chourio, SS Joey Ortiz, 2B Brice Turang, OF Garrett Mitchell, OF Sal Frelick, INF Caleb Durbin, INF Tyler Black
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Young MLB pitchers (4/10): RHP Tobias Myers, RHP Abner Uribe, LHP Robert Gasser, LHP DL Hall
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Prospect hitters (3/5): C Jeferson Quero, 3B Mike Boeve, 3B Brock Wilken, 3B Luke Adams, 1B Ernesto Martinez
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Prospect pitchers (2/5): RHP Jacob Misiorowski, RHP Logan Henderson, RHP Chad Patrick, RHP Craig Yoho, RHP K.C. Hunt
Chourio leads the charge for one of our highest ranked groups of young MLB hitters — a unit that would’ve scored a perfect 10 if catcher William Contreras hadn’t turned 27 this past December. But even excluding their star backstop, this is an enviable collection of position players, many of whom contributed to Milwaukee’s surprise division title in 2024.
It took Chourio a few months to get comfortable as a big leaguer, a wholly understandable adjustment period for a 20-year-old. But he absolutely took off in the second half, emerging as one of the Brewers’ best bats, a timely development in the wake of Christian Yelich’s season-ending back injury. The question now is quite simple: Just how good can this kid be? His elite physical tools should enable high-end power/speed production no matter what, but there’s plenty of room for improvement in his plate discipline and on defense, where we have yet to see if Chourio can handle center field at the highest level. He’s going to be a superstar even if he’s not in center, but it would be a slight alteration from his profile as a prospect if he ends up in a corner for the long haul.
Chourio’s current defensive fit is also the product of the roster around him. Mitchell is a standout defender in center, one who also boasts considerable offensive upside but has struggled to stay on the field due to a litany of injuries. Frelick rounds out the outfield in right, fresh off his first Gold Glove Award. As a hitter, Frelick makes a ton of contact and is a great baserunner but has thus far demonstrated bottom-of-the-scale power. Second baseman Turang — a Platinum Glove winner — made notable strides with the bat in 2024 and stole a whopping 50 bases but, like Frelick, will likely always be known for his fielding. The same could be said for Ortiz, one of the key pieces acquired for Corbin Burnes a year ago who is now slated to replace Willy Adames at shortstop.
Are you sensing a theme? Milwaukee’s defense is excellent across the board, but the brunt of the offensive burden might fall on Chourio for years to come. There are certainly worse players to task with this responsibility, but it makes the next wave of Brewers bats especially intriguing. Black and Boeve have raked in the minors but are both trending away from the hot corner defensively. Quero missed all of 2024 due to shoulder surgery. Wilken has huge power but big swing-and-miss concerns. Adams gets on base a ton (43 HBP in 2024!) despite an unusual setup and swing; can he tap into more power? Perhaps some of these guys will break through in Milwaukee over the next couple of seasons, but the reality is that the highest-upside bats in this system are at least a few years away.
On the mound, Myers was an out-of-nowhere solution in the rotation as a rookie in 2024, and he’s now tasked with proving it was no fluke. His stuff is unremarkable on the surface, but it’s a deep arsenal that he clearly knows how to deploy effectively. At worst, he’s a capable No. 5 starter. Uribe has closer stuff and is trying to get back on track after a wayward 2024. Misiorowski has one of the more electric arsenals in professional baseball but must harness it enough to be worthy of important innings in the majors, whether as a starter or in high-leverage relief. Henderson and Patrick have lower ceilings than Misiorowski but are better bets to start long-term. Yoho overcame numerous injuries earlier in his career to become a unique bullpen arm with an elite changeup; he could get big-league outs in the near future. — J.S.
