2 The Bigs

By Sal Corso: November 26th, 2025:

Each week of the winter I’m going to give you a new position ranking. If you’re new this week, welcome, and feel free to check out all of our 2026 Position Rankings (so far) here:

This week: Outfielders. The biggest names in the sport. Centerfield is considered the prime position in baseball. The corner outfielders are generally some of the best bats in the lineup. Many prospects shift around all three positions during their time in the minor leagues. For that reason, this list will be longer than the last two. I’m going to give you my Top-12 AND three sleepers AND a few OLI (outside-looking-in aka a few that just missed the cut). Let’s go.

Rank. Name (Team) [Upside/Likeliness]

Deep Sleeper. Hendry Mendez (MIN)

From my AFL Prospects To Watch write-up last month:

Hendry is one of those young, teen, international-signees that have been able to develop a lengthy MiLB career (rarely happens). He just turned 21 and completed his fifth year in an MLB system…and it was his best. A near .300 AVG and .838 OPS were career highs, including a strong 33-game stint in AA where he had a .931 OPS with 16 RBI and 24 R. A nice fall could lead to a chance for this 6-foot-3 prospect to jump up the Twins system ranks.

Sleeper. Dante Nori (PHI) [72/MED]

Also from that same write-up:

I hosted an AMA on Instagram and received the question “who’s a sleeper prospect that can quickly roll through the minors?”. My answer was Nori. He’s never going to hit 20 homers, but he’s got the approach and swing to make an ahead-of-schedule debut in the bigs. At 20-years-old he was already promoted to AA at the end of ’25. He’ll likely spend all of next year there and could see a pro-debut as an early 22-year-old in 2026. A good AFL season should put him more on the national map.  

Sleeper. Gabriel Gonzalez (MIN) 76 [LOW]

Gabriel has been one of the best statistical outfielders in the minor leagues. Because of his 5’11” 170 lb frame, he doesn’t get the credit he deserves from prospectors. But a career .301 average and .837 OPS across 441 games where he’s NEVER struck out at a rate higher than 16% looks pretty damn good to me. He’s got some underrated pop too. The Twins are one of the more exciting systems in the sport, and good thing, because the rebuild is underway.

OLI (Outside-Looking-In): Lazaro Montes (SEA), Joshua Baez (STL), Zyhir Hope (LAD), Owen Caissie (CHC)

A lot of folks will be upset that some of these names didn’t make the top-13. In general, these are higher-K-rate kids who I believe need to work through their approach as they continue to move up to AA -> AAA -> MLB.

13. Hector Rodriguez (CIN) [77/LOW]

I covered Hector earlier this year in our Hit Sheet #5 (April 7th)

Somewhat of a card-hobby legend, I never really paid much attention to Hector, outside of his card comps. Maybe I should have. A stocky (210 LB) outfielder who’s played all 3 positions (not extremely well, however). This kid has hit really well over the last few years in A/A+. A consistent .280+ AVG and sub-20% K-rate. The approach needed some work, but looks like the Red’s camp knows this. From A+ (2024) -> AA (2025), here’s some of his rates: BB +5.5pp, Swing -9pp, all while keeping contact rates consistent at 80%. More importantly, he’s doing this at the tougher level, before turning 22. Give me some Hector, I’m in.

12. Edward Florentino (PIT) [75/LOW]

Florentino burst onto the scene and up everybody’s ranks in 2025. He stands as a long 6’4″ lefty who was signed in 2024. He tore up Rookie ball (1.084 OPS across 29 games). The average dropped in A-ball, but the power remained high (.883 OPS 10 HR). He’s a potential 5-tool outfielder. He hit’s the ball hard (25% hard-hit-rate), walks a lot (14%), and drives it out of the park (30+ HR / 162 game pace). It’s very early and Edward is raw. I’ve made the mistake before of over-ranking international prospects after good Rookie-ball stints. All of his advanced metrics were down a bit in A-ball. Normal development/adjustment period, of course, but something to keep an eye on.

11. Braylon Payne (MIL) [81/LOW]

Payne is my one high-K prospect on this list. Why? His swinging strike-rate was up almost 5pp last year (10% -> 15%). As a 19-year-old in his first full season after getting drafted in the 1st round last year, Payne was likely adjusting to pro-level pitching since he was drafted straight out of high school. The patience he showed in his short ’24 stint is what I want to see again. The 10-11% rate led to more walks and better pitches to hit. The Brewers had another young teenage outfield prospect who swung a lot early in his career, but worked on that patience as he got older. Now he’s a potential MVP candidate at 21-years-old in the bigs (Chourio). The team that develops you matters tremendously in baseball, and that’s why Payne gets the Brewers boost to put him over Florentino.

10. Mike Sirota (LAD) [75/LOW]

I didn’t want to like Sirota. Nothing against him specifically, but come on. The Dodgers have too many stud outfielders, how can they have another? But I can’t ignore the metrics. The 3rd round pick in ’24 posted a 1.051 OPS across A/A+ 13 HR and 54 RBI in 59 games. A .600+ slugging, an 18% BB-rate, and a .400 BABIP (batting average on balls in play). On top of that, he added a 26% line drive rate and a whopping 1/4th of his fly balls were hit out of the park. To put that into perspective, that’s the same rate that Cal Raleigh had this year! Sirota took his clubmate Hope’s rank amongst the top-3 outfielders in that star-studded organization (more to come below).

9. Ryan Waldschmidt (ARI) [74/MED]

I covered Waldschmidt in our Hit Sheet #5 as well:

Waldy is not slowing down. However, he’s a tad older than most top prospects in A+, so let’s see how he fares in AA. I’m not jumping the gun until then. He gets a ton of loft on the ball, but has a measly 15% line drive rate and the 28% hard-hit rate isn’t very impressive given the power numbers that he’s produced off it.

Since, he went on a tear in AA, even better than his stint in A+ (.309/.423/.498). And see my comment above about the “measly 15% line drive rate”?. Well he DOUBLED that to 31% across 66 games in AA. He’ll be 23 years old on opening day and will most likely end up back down to AA or even AAA. But he’ll get the spring invite and could make a early ’20’26 debut if he continues to hit the ball like did last year.

8. Justin Crawford (PHI) [80/MED]

Justin is one of our favorite prospects. That’s because we had a chance to see him live at our local Jersey Shore Blue Claws (A+) game a few years ago. Crawford screams the prototypical leadoff centerfielder, and that’s a good thing. Fast, gets on base, and a great glove. The fact that he hasn’t been dealt at either of the last two trade deadlines shows how much the Phillies value and see him as a future core piece of their roster. Well, the future is now. Crawford should get the chance to compete for an opening day role with the Phillies. Check out our fun time at our Day At The Park with the Blue Claws back when we first launched 2 The Bigs.

7. Walker Jenkins (MIN) [82/MED]

Many prospectors had Walker Jenkins in their top-15 overall since he was drafted in 2024. I get it: the raw tools, the look, the power. I wasn’t ready to put him that high just yet. Funny enough, his metrics since have shown a lot of the things that we love to see here at 2TB. Near 1:1 BB-K rates, good contact rates, high line drive rates. The one thing that prospectors focused on that I don’t care much about, is early, raw power. And that’s the one thing that hasn’t truly jumped-off since he debuted. 19 HR and 56 XBH in 192 games is far from nothing, but this is a kid who MLB.com gave a 60-grade power tool to out of the draft. Anyways, he’s moved UP in my book, and he has the potential to be the centerpiece of that nice Twins rebuild I spoke about earlier where he could debut right after his 21st birthday in the spring.

6. Eduardo Quintero (LAD) [83/LOW]

Here’s the second Dodger on this list, and he’s not the last. Quintero was featured on my “Prospects That Sold Me In 2025” post on social media. Here’s said post:

5. Carson Benge (NYM) [76/HIGH]

I don’t like to toot my own horn, but I absolutely CRUSHED the 2024 Draft. Check out the full 2024 Bowman Draft Report here, but I’ll summarize my takes below.

1. Nick Kurtz is the most MLB-ready and best hitter in the draft class. One of my bold predictions of 2025 was that he would be a top-3 fantasy 1B before season’s end.
2. Jac Caglianone had market value, but was over-hyped at the time and needed work at the plate.
3. Dante Nori and Caleb Bonemer were 2nd round picks that would surprise and shoot up systems.
4. And finally, Carson Benge is not only the 2nd-most MLB ready hitter behind Kurtz, but he has more power potential than other prospectors give him credit for. Here’s the full insert:

One of the higher floors of the group. Baseball America sees him only needing a single year in the minors. .856 OPS in 55 AB at A-ball. 14 K’s but 11 BB. He should get that K-rate down next year closer to his collegiate career. He’ll get comfortable real quick. We love a high power potential with a good, high floor hit tool. I think I’m higher on his power than most.

Benge will now compete for a starting job on opening day, after a wildly successful 2025 where he added 15 HR and 73 RBI to his .385 OBP across 3-levels of minor league ball.

4. Chase DeLauter (CLE) [84/LOW]

One of our earliest Prospect Profiles, Chase has been a name we liked ever since he was drafted back in 2022. The problem is that he has yet to have a full, healthy year in the pros. However, he came back strong from an injury in 2025 and made his MLB debut in the playoffs against the Detroit Tigers. DeLauter can hit the ball a mile with his very unique lefty swing, but he’s more than just the typical lefty-power hitter. His .304 AVG / .384 OBP across 138 minor league games shows that he has the ability to put the ball in play and get on base. Health is one of his only obstacles, but I like the odds of DeLauter grabbing that AL Rookie of the Year award in 2026 (don’t worry, we’ll do a whole separate post on ROY favorites before the season).

3. Josue De Paula (LAD) [86/LOW]

Another Dodger, and another kid who has battled injuries from time to time. But De Paula is a monster. Some would say, a “Mini-Yordan [Alvarez]”. A tall, powerful lefty who works a count better than most. De Paula would be a consensus top-10 prospect overall if he could stay on the field consistently. One of our most-covered prospects on the site, and in 2026 he’s going to show you why.

2. Braden Montgomery (CHW) [83/MED]

There’s been a lot of reading on this list, so let’s go to a video on my profile short of Braden and why he has been one of my fastest risers in all of baseball:

1. Max Clark (DET) [84/MED]

Max Clark had a fantastic major league spring training last season at the young age of 20. He followed that up with a very good season split between A+ and AA. Across 111 games he had a .835 OPS 14 HR 67 RBI and a higher BB rate (18%) than K rate (16%). He’s gotten a bit pull-heavy as he’s moved through the system. At the same time, he’s become a much more patient hitter, lowering his swing and swinging strike rates while increasing his contact rates from the mid-70s to 83-85% range. All of this while being a true centerfield glove with an absolute cannon of an arm. He’s a young for his development, massive star potential five-tool player who should have a monster 2026 with the possibility of a late ’26 call up if things go well.