2 The Bigs

By Sal Corso: February 4th, 2025

It’s every prospectors favorite time of year. It’s RANKING SEASON. MLB Pipeline has announced it’s new Top-100 prospects going into 2025, and of course, I have my opinions. Let’s get right into it. This will be a Two-Part Segment:

Player (Upside Score) [Likeliness]

Part 1: 100-51

91-100:

Tre’ Morgan [74] (HIGH)

MLB PIPELINE: TOO LOW –> SHOULD BE ≈70

Tre’ Morgan is one of the most disciplined hitters in minors. Highlighted him mid-season in our The Other Guys piece. Most (including myself) eyed Xavier Isaac as the Rays 1B of future (of course before they inevitably deal him before paying him). But Isaac’s high K-rates and Morgan’s advanced discipline put the latter on the map.

Michael Arroyo [78] (MED)

MLB PIPELINE: TOO LOW –> SHOULD BE ≈55

Michael Arroyo should be higher. A 2TB favorite since May (along with the next name coming shortly). Had one of the best seasons from a middle-infielder in 2024. He has the highest upside in his organization (yes, over Emerson and Young) and maybe across all Middle-Infielders in the minors.

81-90

Sal Stewart [78] (MED)

MLB PIPELINE: FINE (FOR NOW)

Read it again! Clearly Sal is still a sleeper. A .279/.391/.454 slash with a 17% BB and 15% K-rate in High-A. In those 80 games he added 8 HR, 54 R, 46 RBI and 10 SB. A disciplined, career sub-20%-K, 25%+ line drive rate guy? Say no more. Think he’s fine here ONLY because he needs to test the Double-A waters, but top-30 is in the cards for 2026.

Termarr Johnson [71] (LOW)

MLB PIPELINE: TOO HIGH –> SHOULD BE <100

High-K rates and extremely low averages across all levels. It’s a make or break year for Termarr. Reports are he may retire from lack of heart in the game. Think he’s only inside the top-100 because of his early 1st round draft spot in 2022.

71-80

James Triantos [76] (MED)

MLB PIPELINE: TOO LOW –> SHOULD BE ≈60

May not have the upside of fellow org-members Shaw and Ballesteros, but a very solid and improving at-bat for the Cubs. My bold take for James is that he gets a rookie of the year vote in 2025.

Felnin Celesten [76] (LOW)

MLB PIPELINE: FINE (FOR NOW)

Fine where he is, but he’ll be a big mover either up or down this year once we see if he can get the ball off the ground. We just highlighted the high-upside but also high ground ball rates from Celesten in our Top-10 International Teens cover.

61-70

Moises Ballesteros [78] (HIGH)

MLB PIPELINE: TOO LOW –> SHOULD BE ≈35

My favorite of the Cubs prospects (yes, over Shaw, Triantos and Caissie). An unbelievably-pure hitter and he’s already shedding some baby fat going into new season. We’ve covered him too many times on this site. Go ahead and drop his name in the search bar above. Expect a move up this list as a secondary option since he’ll likely move up to the pro-level first.

Christian Moore [75] (LOW)

MLB PIPELINE: TOO HIGH –> SHOULD BE ≈80

A very streaky hitter. Moore had an unbelievable start to his pro-debut but saw high-K rates when he jumped to double-A. The Angels should keep him down for a while, quite possibly the whole year. But that goes against their recent strategy of being the first to debut new draft picks (Neto, O’Hoppe, Schanuel).

51-60

Cade Horton [82] (MED)

MLB PIPELINE: TOO LOW –> SHOULD BE ≈20

Way too low. Best 2nd-pitch (slider) in minors. Think he’s slipped through the cracks due to some 2024 Triple-A struggles. Let’s not forget his 2023 Double-A line: 6 GS 27 IP 1.33 ERA 10.33 K/9

Jaison Chourio [85] (MED)

MLB PIPELINE: TOO LOW –> SHOULD BE ≈15

WAY TOO LOW (I capitalize for dramatic effect). Will be the biggest riser on the entire top-100 a year from today and that will put him in the top-10. My BOLD take of the year is that Chourio will win 2025 MiLB Player of the Year. Let’s list every Outfielder he’s better than that MLB-Pipeline ranked higher:

Montgomery, Caissie, Griffin, Montes, Condon and soon enough, Max Clark.

Part 2 covering 1-49 will be released next week! Stay Tuned.