Hot on the heels of the Baseball America top 30 list, we get the fantasy-first Prospects1500 site’s list for the system. They’re the only shop that earnestly ranks to #50, and we often get a decent look into the down-stream prospects in our system in the eyes of an independent evaluator.
Prospects1500 is unabashedly a Fantasy site; they say it right in the subheading: “Your comprehensive dynasty League resource.” It caters to hard-core Fantasy baseball leagues who do dynasty drafting, meaning you draft prospects and keep them on your roster like a “real” team. I’ve run out of people even willing to do basic Fantasy Baseball, let alone the diehards who would do a keeper league with 18yr olds who may not show up for 7 years. That being said, it colors their rankings a bit. You’re going to see ceiling valued more than floor, you’re going to see positions of scarcity (i.e. Catchers) pushed up a bit as compared to things like corner OFs, and you’re going to see future save projections come into play with high-leverage relievers. We’ll cover them a bit below.
Here’s the top 50, along with their ranking for the same players last year at this time.
| Current Rank | Jan 2025 Rank | First Name | Last Name | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Travis | Sykora | RHP (Starter) |
| 2 | Not yet Drafted | Eli | Willits | SS |
| 3 | 5 | Jarlin | Susana | RHP (Starter) |
| 4 | Not yet Traded for | Harry | Ford | C |
| 5 | Not yet Traded for | Luis | Perales | RHP (Starter) |
| 6 | 17 | Luke | Dickerson | SS/CF |
| 7 | 4 | Seaver | King | SS |
| 8 | 7 | Alex | Clemmey | LHP (Starter) |
| 9 | Not yet Drafted | Coy | James | SS |
| 10 | Not yet Drafted | Landon | Harmon | RHP (Starter) |
| 11 | Not yet Drafted | Ethan | Petry | 1B/OF (Corner) |
| 12 | 6 | Yohandy | Morales | 3B |
| 13 | Not yet Traded for | Sean Paul | Linan | RHP (Starter) |
| 14 | 21 | Angel | Feliz | SS/3B |
| 15 | 37 | Jackson | Kent | LHP (Starter) |
| 16 | Not yet Traded for | Christian | Franklin | OF (CF) |
| 17 | 12 | Caleb | Lomavita | C |
| 18 | Not yet IFA signed | German | Marconi | SS |
| 19 | Not yet Traded for | Eriq | Swan | RHP (Starter) |
| 20 | Not yet IFA signed | Brayan | Cortesia | SS |
| 21 | Not yet Drafted | Miguel | Sime Jr. | RHP (Starter) |
| 22 | Not yet Drafted | Sam | Peterson | OF (CF) |
| 23 | 13 | Victor | Hurtado | OF (Corner) |
| 24 | 20 | Andrew | Pinckney | OF (Corner) |
| 25 | 18 | Cristian | Vaquero | OF (CF) |
| 26 | Not yet Traded for | Ronny | Cruz | SS |
| 27 | Not yet Drafted | Yoel | Tejeda Jr. | RHP (Starter) |
| 28 | Not Yet rule-5 Drafted | Griff | McGarry | RHP (Starter) |
| 29 | 11 | Cayden | Wallace | 2B/3B |
| 30 | Not yet Traded for | Josh | Randall | RHP (Starter) |
| 31 | Not yet IFA signed | Nauris | De La Cruz | OF (Corner) |
| 32 | 45 | Jorgelys | Mota | SS |
| 33 | 44 | Phillips | Glasser | SS |
| 34 | Not yet IFA signed | Daniel | Hernandez | C |
| 35 | outside top 50 | Riley | Cornelio | RHP (Starter) |
| 36 | Not yet Traded for | Browm | Martinez | OF (CF) |
| 37 | 26 | Kevin | Bazzell | C |
| 38 | Not Yet MLFA signed | Orelvis | Martinez | 2B |
| 39 | Not yet Traded for | Jake | Eder | LHP (Starter) |
| 40 | Not yet Traded for | R.J. | Sales | RHP (Starter) |
| 41 | 16 | Andry | Lara | RHP (Starter) |
| 42 | 15 | Elijah | Green | OF (CF) |
| 43 | outside top 50 | Dashyll | Tejeda | OF (CF) |
| 44 | 42 | Sir Jamison | Jones | C |
| 45 | 39 | Andrew | Alvarez | LHP (Starter) |
| 46 | 22 | Kevin | Made | SS |
| 47 | 28 | Jose | Feliz | RHP (Starter) |
| 48 | 33 | Marquis | Grissom | RHP (Reliever) |
| 49 | Not Yet Drafted | Boston | Smith | C/OF |
| 50 | 36 | T.J. | White | OF (Corner) |
Like with the BA list, lots of churn here:
- Only 22 of this top 50 were even ranked last year.
- Of those 28 new guys:
- 8 are new draftees
- 4 are Jan 2025 IFA signings
- 10 are Trade Acquisitions
- 1 is an off-season MLFA signing (Orelvis Martinez)
- 1 is our Rule-5 acquisition in December (McGarry)
- 2 were in our system last year just outside their top 50
- Of their top 50 last year? 18 of the 50 are no longer eligible:
- 9 graduated/exhausted rookie eligibility
- 4 hit MLFA status (De La Rosa, Acosta, Choi, Naranjo)
- 2 were released (Baker, Quintana)
- 1 was traded (Bennett)
- 1 was a Rule5 pick we returned (Reifert … remember him?)
- 1 was DFA’d and claimed (Brzycky)
- Furthermore, there were 8 guys ranked in last year’s top 50 who didn’t make it this time:
- Tyler Stuart, #14 last year and unranked this year (probably the biggest “Whaaa?” in this ranking)
- Rafael Ramirez Jr.
- Orlando Ribalta
- Armando Cruz
- Seth Shuman
- Brennar Cox
- Andres Chapparo
- Brandon Pimental
Ok lets do some quick analysis of the list. Obviously I’m not going to talk about all 50, so i’ll scan down the list and hit some highlights
- Sykrora at #1. We just had a list that dropped him to #5, but these guys keep him at 1-1. It’s obviously a projection of him returning 100% to form and getting to the majors in 2027.
- The rest of the top5 as expected.
- Dickerson way too high at #6, based on his pro debut.
- I’d have put Clemmey above King and Dickerson based on what he accomplished at his age.
- Our three big prep bonus babies come in at #9, #10, and #21. BA had them #9, #11, and #19 so similar thinking.
- The first big surprise was having Linan all the way up at #13. I like Linan that high (I had him #11 on my post-2025 season list), but BA had him all the way down at #23. Big arm, young guy, but 3 DL trips in 2025 give some pause.
- Angel Feliz a bit lower than I’d like to see him at #14; I think he’s edge of the top 10.
- Jackson Kent, who got some criticism in the last post … is also #15 on this list, same ranking as BA.
- Another big surprise: Eriq Swan at #19. BA didn’t even have him in their top 30. I had him too high in my post-season first cut, and early 20s seems right.
- Sam Peterson, the darling of the BA list, down at #22. I think he should at least be in the mid teens.
- Hurtado at #23 when BA didn’t have him at all. Seems like a bonus amount ranking still. Same with Vaquero at #25.
- Wallace and Randall keep their spots in the top 30 here by the skin of their teeth. I think this is about right for both.
- They’ve got Mota too low: #32 when BA has him at #20.
- Glasser comes in at #33, likely depressed b/c he’s not projecting to be a huge fantasy star.
- Cornelio is probably too low at #35; the guy’s on the 40-man roster, which mean’s he’s almost guaranteed to produce in the majors in 2026.
- First mention of under-the-radar trade acquisition Browm Martinez (that name is going to drive me crazy). He’s at #36.
- MLFA signing Orelvis Martinez at #38: i’m not surprised we don’t see more MLFA edge prospects showing up. He turned 24 just after the season ended, having exhausted his 7 years of service in his prior club. He’s now completely in FA years ahead of where a college draftee would be thanks to the early signing of the IFA market.
- Andry Lara at #40. I mean, really? Is he a prospect at all anymore?
- Green stays on the list like fellow big $$ signees Vaquery and Hurtado.
- Andrew Alvarez way too low at #45 … he should be 20 spots higher.
- 2025 Draftee Boston Smith debuts on any prospect chart at #49 … thanks to his Catcher eligiblity.
- TJ White rounds up the list at #50 … for some reason. He hit .231 repeating High-A for the third year as a corner outfielder … I guess its b/c he’s still just 22.
Best players missing:
- Tyler Stuart, as discussed above
- Davian Garcia: solved low-A in his first pro season and held his own in high-A rotation for a few turns. I’ll take that over a reliever who got shelled in AAA. He’s 2 years younger than Swan and had better numbers than him .. but Swan is #19 and Garcia is in the 50s?
- Armando Cruz: I mean, if we’re ranking Hurtado, Vaquero and Green, might as well throw this guy in there as well.