2 The Bigs

By Sal Corso: December 17th, 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:

Week 3: Outfielders

This week: Middle Infielders. Usually Shortstops reign supreme in the world of prospecting, but many shift over to 2nd base as well. I’m going to give you my top-10 Middle Infielders with 4 additional sleepers.

Sleeper 4: Angel Genoa (CLE)

I like this kid a lot. He absolutely crushed the ball in A-levels in ’24 and jumped right into AA in ’25. His K-rate stays within that 15% range, and he’s got some pop as a switch-hitting infielder. I’m expecting a big year at the plate in ’26 for the 21-year-old who will get a full season in the upper levels (AA/AAA).

Sleeper 3: Jhonny Level (SF)

Jhonny joins the extensive list of talented international prospects in San Francisco. I also see him as a potential trade piece this winter for the Giants to upgrade at the pro level. His 30-game-stint in A-ball may not look very impressive, but he’ll get his first-full season stateside at the young age of 19. Another switch-hitter who has the power and speed to be a true 25-25 type of bat if he reaches his potential. 2026 is a big year, and I like his value right now in cards and dynasty leagues.

Sleeper 2: Max Anderson (DET)

Max was on my AFL preseason radar:

Anderson was a high-round pick in ’23, and only went under-the-radar because he was drafted after Clark and McGonigle. But this kid can hit. A seasoned bat who has never seen a K-rate above 20% since being drafted. Max had a fantastic 90-game stint in AA, slashing .306/.358/.499 with 14 HR and 65 RBI. A strong AFL, followed by a similar spring could push the Tigers to bring him up early in ’26. For an organization with a ton of talent, 2B/3B are relatively open positions compared to others.

And he did exactly what I projected him to do and was named an AFL all-star. Now, he goes into camp with the possibility of competing for a starting spot on the Tigers. He could end up shifting to 3B, but he’s played enough middle infield to include him here. McGonigle may not be the only Tiger competing for the AL ROY award this year.

Sleeper 1: Josh Adamczewski (MIL)

Another AFL preseason pick who did just what I was expecting.

A true “out-of-nowhere” find for the Brewers. The 452^nd pick in the 2023 draft (15^th round), has showed that the playing field evens out once you hit professional baseball. Josh (I’ll refrain from continuing to type his last name) had a breakout campaign in A-ball this year, posting an OPS over 1.000 with 38 RBI and nearly a 1:1 BB:K ratio in 46 games at A-ball. The Brewers understand how to develop talent, and specifically did so with fellow 2^nd baseman Brice Turang. 

Now, to our top-10. First, let’s start with the OLI (outside-looking-in). These are the big names that just missed the list.

OLI: Jet Williams, Kaelen Culpepper, Sebastian Walcott, Franklin Arias, George Lombard

The middle infield is stacked. So there are a lot of big names that are on the outside-looking-in. Many are guys I’m just not as sold on compared to others. Lombard’s elite in the field, but his hit tool isn’t as proven to me. Walcott has arrived early to every level, but hasn’t truly taken off at that plate to warrant a top-10 status. Arias puts the bat on the ball a ton early, but he’s still developing as well.

Now (finally), our top-10.

10. Dax Kilby (NYY)

I don’t usually pick first-years at the top of my rankings, unless you’re, say, Nick Kurtz. But Kilby is looking like he could be one of the few Yankees hitting prospect gems of the recent past. A fast-start in A-ball with a .900 OPS across 80 plate appearances, I’m expecting a quick move through A-level ball for the 1^st-round pick. This kid is a much more developed hitter than most at his age.

9. Colt Emerson (SEA)

He’s my sleeper pick for AL ROY (+2200 as of this write-up). I wasn’t always a fan of Colt, but it goes to show you that development isn’t always linear. Here’s why Colt was one of my Prospects Who WON 2025:

Colt had a tough 2024. He’s young, but he’s in a system with good middle-infield depth. You have Cole Young (in the pros), Michael Arroyo (shooting up ranks) and Felnin Celeten (the young international prospect). Emerson’s issue has never been getting on base, but the .263 AVG and .376 SLG in A+ just wasn’t going to cut it. In 2025 he had a fantastic season in A+ (.281/.398/.453) which led to an AA and AAA promotion before season’s end. The jump in power and hard-hit rates was exactly what the Mariners wanted to see. Now Seattle fans can start to imagine a Young/Emerson middle-infield duo, one which they should be very excited about.

8. Travis Bazzana (CLE)

For a #1 overall pick, this kid is just going way too under the radar for me. He hasn’t done much in his 1+ year in the minors, but I can’t take away his college accolades. Bazzana hit .360 in his career at Oregon State with a 1.157 OPS and 45 HR / 66 SB across 184 games. Even through his struggles to hit the ball in the minors this year, he accumulated a .389 OBP across AA/AAA and he hits a TON of line drives (27% of his contact). He’s not a great fielder, but I don’t get too concerned when 2B is considered one of the lower-pressure positions in the sport.

7. Caleb Bonemer (CHW)

One of my favorite risers in baseball. I called him out in my 2024 Bowman Draft Checklist. Here’s why he caught my eye early as a mid-2^nd-rounder:

At the Perfect Game National Caleb hit two HR and had two 105+ barrels. That’s likely to do his bat speed which MLB.com scouts rated as the fastest in the high school class. A very high upside shortstop ranked 2^nd nationally at the position and 6th overall.

That upside is already showing. Last year (A/A+) he hit for a .281/.401/.473 slash with 12 HR / 64 RBI / 29 SB across 107 games, as a 19-year-old. He’s patient, only swinging at a 1/3^rd of his pitches seen, while amasing a 78% contact rate. And don’t forget to add that 26% hard-hit-rate as well. The White Sox are my most underrated system in baseball, and Bonemer is just adding to that narrative.

Check out the clip here:

6. Leo De Vries (ATH)

I always liked De Vries better than Walcott, and in his AA debut after he was (weirdly) dealt to the Athletics last season, he showed why. A .910 slash across 21 games with 5 HR / 17 R / 16 RBI. I still think he is a year out, but a surge by the Athletics in 2026 could strong-arm them to bring him up early. Plus, he’s playing on minor league fields anyways, might as well play there for the major league club.

5. JJ Wetherholt (STL)

Wetherholt is as straight-forward of a pure hitting prospect as they come. He hits .300, he walks as much as he strikes out (14%), and he hits the ball hard (33%) and down (70%-line drive or ground balls). He will either break camp or come up early in the season for the Cardinals. He’ll likely shift to 2B unless Masyn Winn has an epic drop-off.

4. Michael Arroyo (SEA)

My man, Michael. Since I started 2 The Bigs a few years ago, three non-top-100 prospects really caught my eye fast:

1. Sal Stewart (now top-30 and starting for the Reds)
2. Moises Ballesteros (now top-40 and fighting for a starting spot for the Cubs)
3. Michael Arroyo

Arroyo is now a consensus top-50 prospect and should be higher. In my opinion, he’s the best prospect in an absolutely stacked Mariner’s system. This guy can hit, for contact and power, and he’s done so, pretty much for three-years-straight at all levels. He’s getting more patient as he rises up levels (which is rare), pulls the ball less, and hits more line drives. My only concern is that I don’t know what the Mariners do if they trade for Ketel Marte or keep Emerson, Young and Arroyo. I like every name I just mentioned, and there aren’t spots for all of them. Word is that the Mariners want to try Arroyo in LF throughout 2026, let’s see how he does. But give me Arroyo as one of my favorite (still-underrated) prospects in the sport.

3. Kevin McGonigle (DET)

In May of 2024, I wrote a piece called The Other Guys. The focus was to cover a prospect that was the same organization and the same position as one of the bigger name prospects in the sport. At that time, Colt Kieth was THE 2^nd Base prospect in Detroit, but the other guy was a kid named Kevin McGonigle. Oh how times change, but here was my reason for spotting him early on:

Kevin McGonigle is a 2023 conditional round selection (37^th overall) for the Tigers. The 19-year-old lefty middle infielder was given a 60-grade hit tool by MLB.com (well deserved). His .330 average is only 30 points off his BABIP (.360), he’s on base when he puts the ball in play. His 1.23 BB/K ratio is impressive as well. There’s only one flaw in the metrics to-date. He has a 10.5% hard-hit rate to start the 2024 campaign in A-ball. That is the 8^th lowest amongst 2B in all minor league baseball. He may be a 5-foot-9 middle infielder, but he has power, now let’s see the Tigers develop it. He’s only 19, he does the harder task at the plate by making contact. The power should come…

Chalk that up as a win for 2 The Bigs!

2. Jesus Made (MIL)

Made, like Emerson, was also a prospect who WON 2025 for me. Here’s why:

Jesus could have been just another failed, over-hyped international toolsy prospect. His talent lied in his approach and plate discipline. And he did what most don’t do, he exceeded those lofty expectations put on the young teen in the preseason. .285/.379/.413 with 130 hits between A and AA is no easy task as an 18-year-old. He’ll look at a full season in Double-A where he’ll try and jump Griffin and De Vries as the #1 prospect in baseball at some point in 2026.

1. Konnor Griffin (PIT)

No write-up needed here. A potential MLB starter at 19-years-old,  who can be a star in this league. The only thing you can say against him is that he was scouted as a very streaky hitter. He hasn’t shown that to be true in his early career.