MLB Pipeline will reveal its 2026 Prime 100 Prospects record on Friday, Jan. 23, with a one-hour present on MLB Community and MLB.com. Main as much as the discharge of the Prime 100, we’ll look at baseball’s prime 10 prospects at every place.
Final 12 months’s Prime 10 right-handed pitchers record was targeted on Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki, his arrival stateside and the questions on what he may convey to an already loaded Los Angeles roster.
This time round, you is perhaps much more accustomed to the names up prime.
Prime 10 prospects by place:• RHP | LHP (Tues.) | C (Wed.) | 1B (Fri.) | 2B (Jan. 19)• 3B (Jan. 20) | SS (Jan. 21) | OF (Jan. 22) | Prime 100 (Jan. 23)
Nolan McLean (Mets), Bubba Chandler (Pirates) and Trey Yesavage (Blue Jays) sit atop MLB Pipeline’s Prime 10 RHP record to start 2026 after every noticed time within the Majors final 12 months. McLean was the Mets’ de facto ace down the stretch, and Yesavage grabbed headlines by setting the rookie document for strikeouts in a World Collection sport with 12 towards the Dodgers in Recreation 5 of the Fall Traditional. Even Chandler, after an uneven Triple-A season, regarded like a key piece of the Pittsburgh puzzle with a 1.08 ERA, 19 strikeouts and nil walks in his ultimate three MLB begins (16 2/3 innings).
Others on the record will look to hitch that prime trio in making an MLB influence in 2026. Jonah Tong additionally made his debut in The Present alongside McLean within the Mets rotation, and Andrew Painter (Phillies), Jaxon Wiggins (Cubs) and Carlos Lagrange (Yankees) needs to be knocking on the door, if not busting it down, this spring and summer time. Ryan Sloan (Mariners) and Seth Hernandez (Pirates) are simply getting their careers going, whereas Travis Sykora (Nationals) will doubtless miss a lot of the season after present process Tommy John surgical procedure in an in any other case dominant ‘25 marketing campaign. In all, 18 right-handed pitchers (and one swap pitcher) will seem on the preseason Prime 100 record to be launched on the finish of subsequent week, however for now, listed below are the Prime 10 with their venture Main League ETAs in parentheses:
Fastball: Chandler, Painter, Hernandez, Tong, Wiggins, Lagrange (70)Heaters aren’t judged on velocity alone, although you’ll discover just a few triple-digit choices on this group. For instance, Chandler’s four-seamer, which was voted second-best amongst prospects by baseball executives, averaged 97.8 mph in Triple-A however generated plenty of whiffs due to a flat method angle that buzzed it above many Worldwide League bats. Tong, he of the over-the-top supply and large extension for his measurement, averaged 18.7 inches of journey on his four-seamer, making it play above its 94-97 mph velo vary. If you’re in it for the warmth alone, look to Lagrange, who touched 103 final 12 months.
Curveball: McLean, Hernandez (60)McLean’s curveball is already the spinniest in baseball; its common of three,248 rpm was highest amongst all MLB pitches final 12 months. The deuce comes with plenty of sweep too (18.7 inches on common), and that excessive motion could make it troublesome to zone at instances, knocking it down from a plus-plus pitch to a plus one. (He has loads of different pitches at his disposal.) Hernandez, final 12 months’s sixth general choose, has extra of a 12-to-6 possibility on this class, however his curveball comes with tons of spin in its personal proper, together with tight motion that would assist him thrive shortly within the execs.
Slider: McLean (70)There’s the Mets prospect once more. Technically, we’re speaking about McLean’s mid-80s sweeper right here — a breaker with 16-17 inches of horizontal break on common and a couple of,929 rpm of spin throughout his time within the Majors. McLean’s greatest pitch performs off his mid-90s sinker by mirroring its break in the other way, and he’ll use it towards righties and lefties alike.
Changeup: Chandler, Hernandez, Sloan, Tong (60)The talk over the most effective changeup within the Pirates rotation (non-splinker division) could possibly be a enjoyable one in just a few years. Chandler already has a leg up; his 90-93 mph cambio had a 39.6 p.c whiff price within the Majors, due to the way in which he sells it with arm velocity and the separation he generates off his aforementioned four-seamer. Hernandez’s change was among the finest general pitches in final 12 months’s Draft, and he’s way more assured in it than your typical prep arm. The opposite two are somewhat funkier. Tong moved his Vulcan grip to the horseshoe of the baseball to nice impact, aiding his push to the Majors, whereas Sloan has a sinking kick change that helped keep away from splits points towards lefties.
Splitter: Yesavage (70)You can make a case that Yesavage’s splitter is the most effective in baseball. From his sky-high launch level, Yesavage can actually idiot batters together with his 82-85 mph splitter, a pitch that appears prefer it’s dropping from the ceiling of the Rogers Centre. It comes with roughly 10-11 mph of separation from his fastball too, and that helped it generate a whiff price of 58.4 p.c between the common season and postseason in The Present.
Cutter: McLean (55)For all of the discuss of his spin, McLean may wedge in an 89-92 mph cutter for early strikes that places him forward in counts and lets the louder stuff converse for whiff and chase.
Management: Painter, Hernandez, Sloan (55)Painter’s management wasn’t on the similar stage because it was pre-Tommy John surgical procedure with a 9.7 p.c stroll price at Triple-A in 2025, however there’s hope he may nonetheless discover his fastball command with a steadier, extra constant arm slot shifting ahead. Sloan’s stroll price was stellar at 4.5 p.c over 82 innings in his first full season, and if he holds that over longer outings in ‘26 and past, that will assist his argument as a future frontline starter. Hernandez already repeats his supply effectively at 6-foot-4, and it’ll be attention-grabbing to observe how a lot he can hone his management in a Bucs system identified for its pitching improvement.
Highest ceiling: McLeanThe New York right-hander already regarded like a present stud with a 2.06 ERA and 57 strikeouts over 48 innings throughout his first run within the Majors, and his deep arsenal and unbelievable metrics give him uncommon No. 1 upside.
Highest ground: YesavageLet’s put it plainly — if everybody on this group retired tomorrow, just one would have a World Collection gem on his résumé. Positive, there are some questions whether or not Yesavage’s three-pitch, all-armside combine can maintain its effectiveness as Main Leaguers see it increasingly, but it surely’s additionally already labored towards the likes of Aaron Decide and Shohei Ohtani on the sport’s greatest levels.
Rookie of the Yr candidate: McLean/YesavageCheating somewhat right here, however there are two leagues, that means there are two Rookies of the Yr and we will make two picks. Whereas pitchers usually face an uphill awards battle towards their position-player compatriots, McLean and Yesavage have already proven that their stuff performs towards MLB bats, and relying on different strikes and normal well being, they could possibly be No. 2 starters for aggressive groups in New York and Toronto all summer time.
Highest riser & Humblest starting: LagrangeLagrange signed for less than $10,000 out of the Dominican Republic in February 2022 when he was 18 years previous. 4 years later, the 6-foot-7 right-hander is a Prime 100 prospect after a breakout 2025 season by which he completed third within the Minors with 168 strikeouts over 120 innings at Excessive-A and Double-A. His earlier profession excessive for frames in a season was 41 2/3, set in 2023.
Most to show: PainterLast spring, the Phillies informed anybody who would pay attention that they have been circling July because the time for Painter’s MLB debut in 2025. That by no means got here to cross because the 22-year-old couldn’t discover constant sufficient outcomes to press the problem. The leap to Triple-A and the workload after lacking two years with elbow points and Tommy John rehab/restoration may actually clarify Painter’s points, however he gained’t have the identical excuses in 2026. It’ll be full go time for the 2021 thirteenth general choose.
Keep watch over: Kyson Witherspoon, Pink SoxBoston oversaw large breakouts from Payton Tolle and Connelly Early in 2025. (That’s a preview for a future Prime 10 record.) That makes the group’s choose of Witherspoon with the fifteenth general choose in July all of the extra intriguing. The previous Oklahoma ace has loads of energy with a mid-90s fastball that may contact 99, although getting somewhat extra life out of it could possibly be a venture in ‘26, and he has a deep combine with a curveball, slider, cutter and changeup to go together with it. In different phrases, there’s a lot for the Pink Sox pitching group to work with in Witherspoon’s first full season.
