The Toolsiest MLB Prospects In The 2021 Top 100

Image credit: Cristian Pache (Getty Images)

Even after a season when virtually nothing was normal, Baseball America has assembled its annual list of the Top 100 Prospects in baseball. As usual, plenty of debate went into the final product, which was more difficult than normal because of the lack of a minor league season or scouting access at teams’ alternate training sites (and in some cases instructional leagues).

One constant between this list and one presented under normal circumstances, however, is that the final product contains plenty of players with extraordinarily loud sets of tools. Grades from 60 (plus) to 80 (elite) abound throughout, giving the prospects on the list a chance at extremely bright futures.

Even among the Top 100, however, there are echelons. Entering the 2020 season, for example, Wander Franco ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the game, but he wasn’t the prospect with the loudest tools. That title went to White Sox outfielder Luis Robert, who was projected as a 55-grade hitter with plus defense and double-plus power, speed and throwing arm.

Robert showed hints of all those gifts in his debut season, when he ranked in the 96th or better percentiles in sprint speed (29.1 feet per second) and outs above average (7) but also showed the same considerable swing-and-miss issues (32.2% strikeout rate) that he exhibited in the minor leagues.

Robert graduated from prospect consideration and finished second in the balloting for the American League Rookie of the Year award.

In 2021, Franco still reigns as the top prospect in the game, but three players—two hitters and a pitcher—have taken over Robert’s spot as the players in the Top 100 with the loudest tools. To determine the leaders, we took a simple average of each player’s tool grades (five for all position players and anywhere from four to six for pitchers depending on their repertoires.

Using this system, Robert’s grade entering 2020 was 65. This year, the three leaders each come in one tick short, at 64 each. The two hitters who cleared the threshold were the Braves’ Cristian Pache and the Yankees’ Jasson Dominguez. On the pitching side, the honor went to Marlins righthander Sixto Sanchez.

 

Pache and Sanchez each made their big league debuts in 2020 and saw time during their teams’ respective postseason runs. By contrast, Dominguez, who signed with the Yankees in 2019, still has yet to play an official game. He was not at the Yankees’ alternate training site, either, and didn’t back on the field in front of coaches until the team’s instructional league in the Dominican Republic.

Pache is one of the game’s premier defensive prospects—the average of his speed, arm, and fielding grades is 73.33, the best on the Top 100—but his continually developing offensive skills have helped push him among baseball’s elite. He’s also one of just seven players on the Top 100 who have three 70- or 80-grade tools.

Even without an official professional game on his ledger, Dominguez still sits atop the Yankees Top 30 prospects above two high-end righthanders—Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt—who debuted in 2020. He is a potentially plus hitter, fielder and thrower and earns double-plus marks for his power and speed.

Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is the only other player in the Top 100 with 60s or better across the board. Beyond Pache, Dominguez and Witt, five more players in the Top 100 have average tool scores of 60 or better: outfielders Jo Adell (Angels), Garrett Mitchell (Brewers), Julio Rodriguez (Mariners), C.J. Abrams (Padres) and Adley Rutschman (Orioles)

Rutschman and Pache are the only two position players on the Top 100 with three tools which grade as 70 or better.

To break it down even further, we’ve created categories for Hit Grade (which is the average of each player’s hit and power tools), Hit+Run (the Hit Grade with a player’s speed grade added), Defense Grade (the average of a player’s fielding and arm grades) and Defense+Run (the Defense Grade with a player’s speed added).

When broken down that way, three players in the Top 100 have Hit Grades of 70: Franco, Rutschman and No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson. When speed is factored, the two top scorers are Dominguez and Abrams.

Measured by Defense Grade, Pache is the Top 100’s best fielder, with a score of 75. He’s followed by Rutschman, Ke’Bryan Hayes (Pirates) and Brandon Marsh (Angels), who each earn scores of 65. When speed is factored, Mitchell, the Brewers’ 2020 first-rounder jumps just behind Pache.

RANK NAME POSITION TEAM HIT POWER RUN FIELD ARM HIT GRADE HIT+RUN DEFENSE DEFENSE+RUN TOOLS AVERAGE
7 Cristian Pache OF Braves 45 55 70 80 70 50 56.67 75 73.33 64
91 Garrett Mitchell OF Brewers 55 55 80 60 60 55 63.33 60 66.67 62
38 Brandon Marsh OF Angels 55 50 60 60 70 52.5 55.00 65 63.33 59
33 Jasson Dominguez OF Yankees 60 70 70 60 60 65 66.67 60 63.33 64
11 CJ Abrams SS Padres 70 50 80 60 50 60 66.67 55 63.33 62
15 Ke’Bryan Hayes 3B Pirates 60 50 55 70 60 55 55.00 65 61.67 59
56 Vidal Brujan 2B/SS Rays 60 40 80 55 50 50 60.00 52.5 61.67 57
16 Bobby Witt Jr. SS Royals 60 60 60 60 60 60 60.00 60 60.00 60
13 Jo Adell OF Angels 50 70 70 50 60 60 63.33 55 60.00 60
29 Royce Lewis SS Twins 45 55 70 55 55 50 56.67 55 60.00 56
66 Andres Gimenez SS/2B Indians 50 40 70 60 50 45 53.33 55 60.00 54
32 Drew Waters OF Braves 55 55 60 60 55 55 56.67 57.5 58.33 57
17 Randy Arozarena OF Rays 55 60 70 50 55 57.5 61.67 52.5 58.33 58
42 Corbin Carroll OF D-backs 60 50 70 60 45 55 60.00 52.5 58.33 57
2 Adley Rutschman C Orioles 70 70 40 60 70 70 60.00 65 56.67 62
3 Julio Rodriguez OF Mariners 60 70 45 55 70 65 58.33 62.5 56.67 60
79 Jose Garcia SS Reds 50 50 50 60 60 50 50.00 60 56.67 54
75 Geraldo Perdomo SS D-backs 55 40 55 60 55 47.5 50.00 57.5 56.67 53
50 Oneil Cruz SS Pirates 50 70 60 50 60 60 60.00 55 56.67 58
72 Brennen Davis OF Cubs 50 60 60 50 60 55 56.67 55 56.67 56
90 Bobby Dalbec 3B/1B Red Sox 40 70 45 50 70 55 51.67 60 55.00 55
43 JJ Bleday OF Marlins 60 60 50 55 60 60 56.67 57.5 55.00 57
61 Brendan Rodgers SS/2B Rockies 55 55 50 55 60 55 53.33 57.5 55.00 55
4 Jarred Kelenic OF Mariners 70 60 55 50 60 65 61.67 55 55.00 59
85 Robert Hassell OF Padres 60 50 55 55 55 55 55.00 55 55.00 55
77 Jazz Chisholm SS Marlins 40 60 55 55 55 50 51.67 55 55.00 53
93 Kristian Robinson OF D-backs 45 70 60 55 50 57.5 58.33 52.5 55.00 56
94 Alek Thomas OF D-backs 60 45 60 60 45 52.5 55.00 52.5 55.00 54
65 Ronny Mauricio SS Mets 50 50 40 60 60 50 46.67 60 53.33 52
34 Jordan Groshans SS Blue Jays 60 60 50 50 60 60 56.67 55 53.33 56
45 Nolan Jones 3B Indians 60 60 50 50 60 60 56.67 55 53.33 56
73 Noelvi Marte SS Mariners 60 55 50 50 60 57.5 55.00 55 53.33 55
83 Heliot Ramos OF Giants 50 55 50 55 55 52.5 51.67 55 53.33 53
88 Brice Turang SS Brewers 60 40 60 50 50 50 53.33 50 53.33 52
40 Nick Madrigal 2B White Sox 60 30 60 50 50 45 50.00 50 53.33 50
1 Wander Franco SS Rays 80 60 50 50 55 70 63.33 52.5 51.67 59
31 Riley Greene OF Tigers 60 55 50 55 50 57.5 55.00 52.5 51.67 54
86 Zac Veen OF Rockies 55 60 50 50 55 57.5 55.00 52.5 51.67 54
82 Tyler Freeman SS Indians 60 40 50 50 55 50 50.00 52.5 51.67 51
19 Austin Martin SS/OF Blue Jays 70 55 55 50 50 62.5 60.00 50 51.67 56
51 Nick Gonzales 2B Pirates 70 45 55 50 50 57.5 56.67 50 51.67 54
9 Dylan Carlson OF Cardinals 55 55 55 55 45 55 55.00 50 51.67 53
78 Ha-Seong Kim SS Padres 55 45 55 50 50 50 51.67 50 51.67 51
12 Marco Luciano SS Giants 60 70 40 50 60 65 56.67 55 50.00 56
62 Heston Kjerstad OF Orioles 50 70 40 50 60 60 53.33 55 50.00 54
41 Joey Bart C Giants 45 60 40 50 60 52.5 48.33 55 50.00 51
5 Spencer Torkelson 1B Tigers 60 80 45 55 50 70 61.67 52.5 50.00 58
71 Jeter Downs 2B/SS Red Sox 55 55 50 50 50 55 53.33 50 50.00 52
67 Daulton Varsho C/OF D-backs 55 50 55 50 45 52.5 53.33 47.5 50.00 51
47 Triston Casas 1B Red Sox 55 65 40 55 50 60 53.33 52.5 48.33 53
49 Josh Jung 3B Rangers 60 60 40 50 55 60 53.33 52.5 48.33 53
54 Nolan Gorman 3B Cardinals 45 70 40 45 60 57.5 51.67 52.5 48.33 52
96 Orelvis Martinez SS Blue Jays 60 60 45 40 60 60 55.00 50 48.33 53
97 Austin Hendrick OF Reds 50 60 45 40 60 55 51.67 50 48.33 51
48 Francisco Alvarez C Mets 50 60 30 50 60 55 46.67 55 46.67 50
18 Alex Kirilloff OF Twins 70 60 40 50 50 65 56.67 50 46.67 54
36 Luis Campusano C Padres 55 60 30 50 55 57.5 48.33 52.5 45.00 50
53 Keibert Ruiz C Dodgers 60 45 30 55 50 52.5 45.00 52.5 45.00 48
92 Tyler Soderstrom C Athletics 60 60 40 40 55 60 53.33 47.5 45.00 51
39 Trevor Larnach OF Twins 50 60 40 45 50 55 50.00 47.5 45.00 49
21 Andrew Vaughn 1B White Sox 60 60 30 50 50 60 50.00 50 43.33 50
87 Michael Busch 2B Dodgers 60 60 45 40 45 60 55.00 42.5 43.33 50
60 Ryan Jeffers C Twins 55 50 20 60 45 52.5 41.67 52.5 41.67 46
63 Ryan Mountcastle OF Orioles 60 60 50 40 30 60 56.67 35 40.00 48
70 Alejandro Kirk C Blue Jays 70 50 20 45 50 60 46.67 47.5 38.33 47

For Sanchez, 2021 marks the second straight year he’s held at least a share of the title of most tooled-up pitcher in the minors. His fastball ranks as a true 80—just one of five in the Top 100—and his changeup grades as a potential double-plus. Both grades are bumps up from 2020, when he entered the year with a 70 fastball and 60 changeup.

Sanchez’s slider also ticked up a half-grade, and he added a curveball that could potentially reach above-average as well. In fact, Sanchez’s only tool to remain static year over year was his control, which projects as plus.

Sanchez isn’t the only Marlin with a tantalizing set of tools, either. Max Meyer, Miami’s choice at No. 3 overall, ranks second among pitchers with an average tool grade of 62.5. His pitch mix includes a double-plus fastball and slider, a potentially above-average grades on his changeup and control.

Mathematically, Meyer’s lack of a fourth pitch helped him overtake Toronto righthander Nate Pearson by half a point. Pearson, who ranks No. 14 on the Top 100, mixes an 80-grade fastball with a double-plus slider, above-average changeup, average curveball and above-average control.

Pearson was inconsistent in his big league debut but finished the year with a dominant two-inning stint in the playoffs in which he struck out five hitters.

RANK NAME POSITION TEAM FB CB SL CH CTRL OTHER TOOLS AVERAGE
6 Sixto Sanchez RHP Marlins 80 55 55 70 60   64.00
44 Max Meyer RHP Marlins 70   70 55 55   62.50
14 Nate Pearson RHP Blue Jays 80 50 70 55 55   62.00
37 Asa Lacy LHP Royals 70 55 60 60 55   60.00
98 Matt Allan RHP Mets 70 60   60 50   60.00
22 Grayson Rodriguez RHP Orioles 70 50 60 55 60   59.00
10 MacKenzie Gore LHP Padres 60 55 60 60 60   59.00
28 Casey Mize RHP Tigers 60 50 60 70 55   59.00
95 Jackson Kowar RHP Royals 60 50   70 55   58.75
24 Michael Kopech RHP White Sox 80 50 60 50 50   58.00
25 Daniel Lynch LHP Royals 70 50 60 55 55   58.00
27 Spencer Howard RHP Phillies 65 55 60 55 55   58.00
26 Triston McKenzie RHP Indians 60 60 55 55 60   58.00
35 Logan Gilbert RHP Mariners 60 60 55 60 55   58.00
74 Garrett Crochet LHP White Sox 80 60   40 50   57.50
81 Edward Cabrera RHP Marlins 70 60   50 50   57.50
30 Matt Manning RHP Tigers 60 60   55 55   57.50
100 Shane McClanahan LHP Rays 70 60 60 50 45   57.00
57 Emerson Hancock RHP Mariners 60 50 55 60 60   57.00
69 Simeon Woods Richardson RHP Blue Jays 60 50 55 60 60   57.00
84 Ryan Weathers LHP Padres 60   55 50 60   56.25
8 Ian Anderson RHP Braves 55 50   60 60   56.25
52 Brailyn Marquez LHP Cubs 80 45 60 50 45   56.00
23 Luis Patino RHP Rays 70 45 60 55 50   56.00
59 DL Hall LHP Orioles 70 55 50 60 45   56.00
20 Tarik Skubal LHP Tigers 60 55 60 50 55   56.00
46 Matthew Liberatore LHP Cardinals 60 60 50 55 55   56.00
55 Deivi Garcia RHP Yankees 55 60 50 60 55   56.00
80 Forrest Whitley RHP Astros 60 55 55 60 40 55 54.17
76 Adrian Morejon LHP Padres 60 60 45 60 45   54.00
99 Mick Abel RHP Phillies 60 45 60 50 55   54.00
64 Clarke Schmidt RHP Yankees 60 60   45 50   53.75
68 Josiah Gray RHP Dodgers 60   55 45 55   53.75
58 Quinn Priester RHP Pirates 60 60 40 50 55   53.00
89 Trevor Rogers LHP Marlins 55   55 55 50 50 53.00



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