Last night, MLB updated its ranking of the best prospects on the circuit. There is an official top-100 which is often updated and yesterday, the ranking for the start of the 2024 season was made.
This is what it gives when you go to the MLB website for classification.
Note that eight members of the top-10 should have playing time, according to projections, in the MLB in 2024.
I would be quite surprised if Evan Carter, the Rangers' 2023 World Series star, had to start the 2024 season in, say, the minors.
Only one pitcher, the excellent Paul Skenes (Pirates), is in the top-10.
No member of the Blue Jays is in the top-10, by the way, but left-hander Ricky Tiedemann (29th) and slugger Orelvis Martinez (back in the top-100 at 89th) are in the top-100.
What should be noted is that the Orioles have six prospects in the top-100… including no less than five in the top-32. It's not nothing.
Jackson Holliday, who will undoubtedly play in the Majors in 2024 (barring a catastrophe), notably kept first place in the total ranking.
And listening to Jim Callis, the expert on MLB prospects, let's say that it's quite deserved.
Callis said seeing Holliday play at four different levels of the minors in 2023 (including AAA) is fascinating.
He says the only other prospect he can think of who has done the same is Alex Rodriguez. The latter also played in the MLB in his first full season among the pros.
He added that A-Rod is the best prospect he's seen in over thirty years in the business, but that Holliday “is in the same conversation” as Rodriguez.
This is no small thing considering that despite the doping stories, A-Rod is recognized as one of the greats in MLB history.
If the Orioles have this in their hands…watch out.
