With the MLB season quickly approaching the “dog days” of August, we are going to see more and more players get their first call to the big leagues. That may include anyone from the game’s top prospects to minor-league journeymen. We’ve seen some top prospects such as Jackson Holliday, James Wood, and Junior Caminero get chances at the big league level, and while players like that still qualify as prospects, I wanted to feature my top ten prospects that have yet to debut. Not all of these players will debut in 2024, but we could see a few of them, and as long as all of these prospects continue on their current trajectory, expect to see all of these names at the big league level at some point down the road.
Top 10 MLB Prospects Yet to Debut
10. Noah Schultz, LHP, CWS
Kicking off our top 10 is the big lefty from the White Sox system. “Big” is an understatement as Schultz stands in at 6’9″, making at-bats for opposing hitters a nightmare. That has shown up in his stat line, as he’s pitching to the tune of a 2.01 ERA over 31.1 innings and eight starts at double-A Birmingham. Schultz started the year in high-A Winston Salem where he struck out 38.2% of the batters he faced over 27.1 innings and seven starts. At just 20 years old, there isn’t quite an end in sight for just how good the Southside’s 2022 first-round draft pick will be. Schultz is a control freak, only allowing free passes to 4.9% of the batters he’s faced at double-A, and also features one of the best sliders in the minor leagues – a solid recipe for long-term success.
9. Samuel Basallo, C/1B, BAL
Coming in ranked ninth, and part of a system full of players that have been ranked on lists like this, is Samuel Basallo, the 19-year-old left-handed slugger out for the Dominican Republic. Basallo entered Baltimore’s system at the age of 16 as an international signee and has only gotten better with time. He has spent the 2024 season at double-A Bowie where he currently has put together a line of .270/.332/.440 with 12 home runs and seven steals over 323 plate appearances. Although those numbers have trended towards the league average, it’s important to note that double-A has typically been the hardest level for hitters to find success and he has maintained his underlying metrics in the process. He has bounced from catcher to first base to DH throughout his pro career, with a permanent move to first base in the future being likely. Regardless of where he ends up, his offensive output is his calling card and is what should get him to the show.
8. Roman Anthony, OF, BOS
Roman Anthony is one of two Red Sox prospects featured here thanks to a steady rise through Boston’s system, and an impressive stat line at double-A Portland. He entered Boston’s system in 2022 at the age of 18 as a second-round competitive balance draft pick. 2023 was his best year as he advanced from low-A Salem up to double-A where he performed very well at the end of the season. In 2024, he’s posted a solid line of .244/.348/.453 with 11 home runs and 10 steals over 302 plate appearances. Anthony has earned a 60-grade power tool with 50s across the rest of the board, a solid recipe for a future big-league center fielder. 51 of his 69 games played thus far in 2024 have been in center field, so it’s safe to say he has a good chance at sticking there at the next level.
7. Coby Mayo, 3B, BAL
Our second Oriole featured is Coby Mayo, Baltimore’s 4th round pick in 2020 out of Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. In my opinion, Mayo is the closest to being MLB-ready out of any player on this list, if not MLB-ready right now. He likely would have debuted on any other team, but Baltimore’s infield is just too crowded with talent already. I would be shocked if he is still an Oriole at the conclusion of the trade deadline, considering the Orioles plan on being aggressive and Mayo seems to be their main prospect trading chip. Whether he stays with the Orioles or ends up elsewhere, he should make an impact at the next level. All he has done is hit at a high level at each stop of the minors, and is currently carrying a slash line of .297/.376/.591 with 19 home runs over 306 plate appearances at triple-A Norfolk.
6. Max Clark, OF, DET
The Tigers are another team with two different players on this list, with the first one being Max Clark. The 19-year-old outfielder was the third overall pick to the Tigers in the 2023 draft, and while his pro career got off to a slow start, he has recently really stepped on the gas. Clark’s calling card as the third overall pick was that he was one of the more “tooled up” players in the class. He has proved that in his second year in the pros, putting together a line of .286/.386/.421 with seven home runs and 26 steals over 333 plate appearances, all while playing an elite center field. He has spent all of his 2024 season with low-A Lakeland, but just recently got the call to high-A West Michigan, where I would imagine he will spend the rest of the season unless he forces Detroit’s hand and earns a call to double-A Erie.
5. Dylan Crews, OF, WSH
Like Clark, Dylan Crews is another prospect who took a little bit of time to get going, and ironically the two of them were drafted back to back in the 2023 draft. Crews was selected second overall, and likely would have been the first overall pick if not for Paul Skenes. Crews is another outfielder with a lot of tools and is also getting close to a call to Washington’s big-league roster. After entering the Nationals system last July, he earned his way up to double-A Harrisburg where he eventually struggled. He started 2024 in Harrisburg and hit enough to get the call to triple-A Rochester. Crews has some of the best speed and ability to play center field in the minors, so the bat is the only thing in question. He has hit at a very average level at triple-A, posting a line of .257/.336/.426 which is good for just a 97 wRC+ in what is a very hitter-friendly environment at the triple-A level. However, his bat is showing a lot of promise as he has cut his K% at double-A from 23.7% to 16.8% at triple-A.
4. Marcelo Mayer, SS, BOS
Marcelo Mayer very well could be the top non-debuted shortstop if it wasn’t such a toss-up between him and the prospect ranked in front of him. The 2021 fourth-overall pick has been one of the best players at the double-A level and is well on his way to a call-up to triple-A Worcester. We could even see him in Boston at some point before the end of the season if he continues on his current trajectory. At double-A Portland this year, he has hit .306/.371/.481 with eight home runs and 13 steals over 326 plate appearances. He’s another hitter who has improved in the contact department, decreasing his K% of 25.8% at high-A to 19.6% at double-A. He’s flashed a solid glove at shortstop as well, earning a 60-grade arm and 55-grade glove, so it’s hard not to see him sticking there at the next level.
3. Carson Williams, SS, TB
Coming in just a tick ahead of Mayer is Carson Williams of the Tampa Bay Rays. Like Mayer, Williams was another high school shortstop drafted in the first round of the 2021 draft, so it will be fun to follow both Williams and Mayer’s careers together. Williams’s best tools are his glove and athleticism, but his offensive game has come a long way since entering Tampa Bay’s system at the age of 18. At double-A Montgomery, he’s hit .257/.350/.489 with 14 home runs and 24 steals, one of the more impressive stat lines among any minor league player. He also happened to get a cup of coffee at triple-A Durham at the end of 2023, so I can only speculate that the Rays may do the same thing they did with Junior Caminero last year and let him get a taste of the big leagues at the end of 2024, and then start him in triple-A at the beginning of 2025.
2. Walker Jenkins, OF, MIN
Walker Jenkins comes in as my highest-ranked position player. Jenkins is yet another prospect that came out of the loaded front end of the 2023 draft class. At just 19 years old, he’s currently tearing it up at low-A Fort Myers and would probably be at either high-A Cedar Rapids or double-A Wichita if not for an injury that sidelined him for a portion of the season. He was the fifth overall pick last year out of South Brunswick High School, and has arguably hit better than anyone in that draft class. Between his two stints with Minnesota’s complex league team and his two stints with low-A Fort Myers, Jenkins has a .927 OPS and has drawn more walks than strikeouts. He has yet to really tap into his power but has made up for it with his hit tool and speed which has shown up in his 13 steals and six triples. And while he’s projected to be a corner outfielder, he has shown some promise in center field where he has started 15 games in his pro career.
1. Jackson Jobe, RHP, DET
Our second Tiger featured and also just our second pitcher is Jackson Jobe, the 21-year-old phenom from the 2021 draft class where he was the third overall pick. While he ranks as MLB Pipeline’s #11 prospect behind his fellow Tiger prospect Max Clark, I have a hard time looking past the projection in Jobe’s arm. Regardless of the stuff, take a look at the numbers he’s put up since entering Detroit’s system. Over 183 pro innings, he has a 2.95 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, with a 29.1 K%. Since he got the call-up to double-A Erie earlier this year, he has a 1.38 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and a 36.0 K% over 32.2 innings and eight starts. Now let’s take a look at the stuff. His fastball has earned a 65 grade and he can run that pitch up to 100 mph when he wants to. He also features a 70-grade slider that is a whiff machine. On top of that, he also has a 60 grade changeup and 60 grade control which has shown up in his career 7.2 BB%. This is without a doubt a big-league arm in the making, it’s just a matter of when.
Main Image: GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS / USA TODAY NETWORK
