Baseball America

Baseball America has ranked the Top 100 prospects in baseball for 36 seasons, and this year’s edition is a notable one for pitchers. Six pitchers rank among the top 10 overall prospects. This has happened just four times in 36 seasons. Position prospects tend to be favored on prospect rankings. Not only do they carry less injury risk, but the most talented ones contribute both offensively and defensively to team success. But this year, a combination of pitchers who are more talented than usual—and position players who are less bountiful than usual—created an environment for pitching prospects to stand tall among the Top 100. Here are the four Top 100 Prospects classes to feature six pitchers ranked inside the top 10. Pitchers are listed with career Baseball-Reference WAR totals through…

Drew Storen has trotted out to the mound in the ninth inning, tabbed as his team’s closer, in many big situations. He pitched in huge games during his college career at Stanford, including in the 2008 College World Series. Storen saved games in the minor leagues, in the big leagues and in the MLB postseason. Knowing you’re going to be the guy on the hill finishing things out in the ninth comes with pressure, but according to Storen, closing also had an unlikely perk. “It is almost easier at times to close, because you know it’s on the hitter to be the hero,” Storen said. “As long as you don’t make an egregious mistake, you’re going to be OK.” Even as a freshman at Stanford, Storen was the guy to…

1 ROKI SASAKI IS THE RARE PITCHER TO RANK AS THE TOP PROSPECT IN BASEBALL. Rarely does a pitcher occupy the top spot on the Top 100 Prospects list. Injury is a constant occupational hazard, making position players far more likely to rank No. 1. But Sasaki is special. He is also the first pitcher to rank No. 1 since fellow Japanese ace Daisuke Matsuzaka reached the Top 100 summit in 2007. SEE PAGE 13: TOP 100 PROSPECTS 2 SASAKI HEADS SIX PITCHERS WHO RANK AMONG THE TOP 10 PROSPECTS IN BASEBALL. NO TOP 100 PROSPECTS CLASS HAS EVER HAD MORE. Led by Roki Sasaki at No. 1 and Jackson Jobe at No. 3, a total of six pitchers rank among the top 10 most elite prospects in the game. Just three…

Like most legends, Roki Sasaki’s story begins with tragedy. When he was nine, his father and grandparents were killed by the tsunami caused by the massive Tohoku earthquake that struck Japan’s east coast in 2011. Sasaki, his mother and two brothers lived in a nursing home before resettling in the small coastal city of Ofunato. Sasaki began playing baseball as an escape and blossomed into the country’s top amateur pitcher. At Ofunato High, he reached 101 mph to break Shohei Ohtani’s national high school record. He received further acclaim when he threw a 12-inning complete game with 21 strikeouts on 194 pitches in a regional qualifier for Koshien, Japan’s famed national high school tournament. Chiba Lotte selected Sasaki with the first overall pick in the 2019 Nippon Professional Baseball draft…

Dodgers righthander Roki Sasaki is the No. 1 prospect in baseball. This is a rare occurrence for a rare talent like the 23-year-old Japanese ace. A pitcher has ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect for Baseball America just seven times in 36 years of the Top 100 Prospects exercise. Here is a look at the six pitchers who preceded Sasaki as No. 1 overall prospects. 1990: Steve Avery, LHP, Braves Drafted third overall out of a Michigan high school in 1988, Avery shot to the top of the inaugural Top 100 in 1990. He made his MLB debut that season as a 20-year-old and quickly ascended to staff workhorse for Atlanta before shoulder issues cut short his career. Avery went 96-83, 4.19 in 11 MLB seasons, was MVP of…

About the Top 100 Prospects ■ Players qualify for the ranking if they have 130 or fewer major league at-bats or 50 or fewer major league innings in their career. Major league service time is not considered. ■ Each player’s listed age is his baseball age—as of June 30—in 2025. ■ The estimated time of arrival, or ETA, is the season when the player is projected to reach the big leagues, if only for a few games. ■ The scouting grades are projected future grades on the 20-80 scale, where 50 is average. Position players are assessed for their ability to hit for average, as well as their power, speed, fielding and throwing arm. Pitchers are graded on the quality of their pitches and their control. 1. ROKI SASAKI DODGERS,…