MLB Pipeline will reveal its 2026 High 100 Prospects record at 8 p.m. ET on Friday with a one-hour present on MLB Community and MLB.com. Main as much as the discharge of the High 100, we’ll look at baseball’s prime 10 prospects at every place.
Spoiler alert: this will likely be our most loaded place group of 2026.
That makes some degree of sense. Thought-about the captains of the infield, shortstops are accountable for masking tons of floor, making tough throws and displaying adaptability. In different phrases, the six is the place you need your finest athletes (or right-handed-throwing ones anyway).
Lengthy gone are the times by which golf equipment had been keen to stay with light-hitting shortstops who might solely flash the glove. You want to have the ability to present worth with the stick too. Living proof: of the 17 Main League shortstops price not less than 3.0 fWAR in 2025, solely two had a wRC+ beneath 100: Dansby Swanson (99) and Masyn Winn (91).
This 12 months’s batch of High 10 shortstop prospects is reflective of that. 9 of the ten have not less than above-average hit instruments, and eight of the ten grade out not less than above common for energy. Not that there aren’t a pair defensive wizards right here too. However total, that is the place you’ll discover essentially the most five-tool abilities on this prospect-ranking cycle.
High 10 prospects by place:• RHP | LHP | C | 1B | 2B• 3B | SS | OF (Thursday) | High 100 (Friday)
Hit: McGonigle (70)Even this may be gentle. A profession .308 hitter within the Minors, McGonigle has the fitting mixture of plate self-discipline, aggression on pitches he can drive, directness to the baseball and high-quality angles off the bat. He’s walked greater than he’s struck out in all three Minor League seasons, and the standard of contact off the bat can push balls previous defenses constantly. He might be a multitime batting champion in Detroit.
Energy: Griffin, Walcott, Holliday (65)Coincidentally, all three of those gamers are listed at 6-foot-4, making them the tallest shortstops on the High 10, and so they might use that measurement, together with the power that comes with it, to turn into not less than 30-to-35-homer gamers within the Majors. Griffin, who went deep 21 occasions in his first full season, has completed essentially the most to carry out that pop in-game within the professionals thus far.
Run: Griffin (70)Even at his measurement, the 2024 ninth total decide can actually get shifting. He recorded a Bolt (i.e., a Dash Velocity of 30 ft/sec or quicker) 33 occasions over 50 video games throughout his time within the Florida State League final season. Oneil Cruz (42) was the one Pirate to register greater than six within the Majors final season. Griffin additionally completed with 65 steals in 2025, tied for eighth-most within the Minors.
Arm: Griffin, Walcott (70)The dimensions of Griffin and Walcott would not solely equate to energy on the plate. Each possess a cannon that has aided within the pursuit of sticking on the premium place, and if they should transfer in some unspecified time in the future down the road (Griffin to heart discipline, Walcott to 3rd base or proper), their arms will definitely clean the transition.
Subject: Griffin, Willits (60)That stated above, Griffin answered loads of questions on his capability to stay a shortstop in 2025, and after initially planning to separate his time between brief and heart, the Pirates locked him in on the six due to his vary and talent to make sturdy throws. Griffin was even voted the Finest Defensive Prospect within the MLB Pipeline Govt Ballot earlier this month. Willits, final 12 months’s first total decide, obtained just a few votes himself and will earn extra sooner or later as he establishes his skilled defensive bona fides.
Highest ceiling: GriffinAll 5 of Griffin’s instruments grade out as plus or above, and he’ll nonetheless solely be 19 years previous on Opening Day. When requested in regards to the No. 1 prospect in baseball within the aforementioned Govt Ballot, 88.4 % of respondents selected Griffin. That kind of industry-wide consensus is uncommon, and on this case, revealing. The Bucs shortstop is essentially the most tooled-up No. 1 identify on the prime of this record since Bobby Witt Jr. in 2022, and he’s a much bigger model of the Royals celebrity.
Highest flooring: McGonigleYou might give Griffin the nod right here too, contemplating he has so many alternative lanes to supply his group with worth, however we’ll go together with the No. 2 man in McGonigle as a result of he excels on the most tough factor within the sport. There’s little or no doubt that the Tigers infielder will hit on the prime degree, and even when he wants to maneuver to second or third base long run, his offensive capabilities will work anyplace.
Rookie of the Yr candidate: WetherholtIf Griffin and McGonigle crack the Main League Opening Day rosters, they definitely have the ceilings to compete for the award within the Nationwide and American League respectively. (Even when they don’t, Nick Kurtz proved final season you needn’t be up in March to take house {hardware}.) However as issues sit now, Wetherholt has the perfect Opening Day shot of anybody on this group with the Cardinals clearing out Nolan Arenado and probably Brendan Donovan from the infield. The previous West Virginia star is adaptable in opposition to a number of pitch varieties, and his energy confirmed up in improved methods at Triple-A. He might bat .300 with 15+ homers and 20ish steals as a rookie.
Highest riser/humblest beginnings: MadeTeams usually are keen to draft high-quality shortstops extremely or signal them for large cash internationally, so it shouldn’t be a shock that there aren’t many big-time breakouts right here. Made is the one participant to signal for beneath seven figures, and even he acquired $950,000 to affix Milwaukee out of the Dominican Republic in January 2024. He made an enormous bounce as much as No. 56 on our preseason High 100 final 12 months after a star flip within the Dominican Summer time League and is poised to make one other large leap after climbing to Double-A in his age-18 season in ‘25. Along with his quick-twitch talent set, the switch-hitting Made might see Milwaukee earlier than he turns 20.
Most to show: HollidayThis feels harsh for an 18-year-old shortstop who remains to be solely months faraway from being the fourth total decide within the Draft. However swing-and-miss points had been already a priority coming off Holliday’s time on the summer-showcase circuit and had been exacerbated throughout his temporary flip at Single-A Fresno, the place he whiffed on 41 % of his complete cuts and 44 % of his hacks in opposition to fastballs. That would have been the results of an 18-year-old ramping up in opposition to professional pitching for the primary time. It might have additionally uncovered his best weaknesses. If Holliday adjusts, he might be a High 10 total prospect this time subsequent 12 months. If he doesn’t, he’ll be off the High 10 SS record solely in ‘27.
Control: Josuar Gonzalez, GiantsGonzalez might make the following Made-level bounce. A switch-hitter, the then-17-year-old hit .288/.404/.455 with 4 homers and 33 steals in 52 video games within the DSL final season, and he’s already a greater defender at shortstop than his Brewers counterpart. He has loads of velocity to burn along with his bat and ft, and if he provides slightly power in his transfer stateside, his inventory will include loads of rocket gasoline.
