The 2023 Top 100 Prospects list is out, and it’s full of new faces and plenty of surprises. This year’s list has a very new look at the top, with the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson taking the No. 1 spot overall. It’s the sixth straight list the Orioles have had a player in the top two, starting with Adley Rutschman in 2020.
The Top 10 is full of new names, with only three players remaining from last year’s list: Francisco Álvarez of the Mets, Anthony Volpe of the Yankees and the Orioles’ Grayson Rodriguez. This makes Baltimore the only team with two players in the Top 10.
The biggest risers on the list are Elly De La Cruz of the Reds, who jumped 66 spots to No. 10 overall, and Henderson, who jumped 63 spots to take the No. 1 spot. Other big movers include the Cardinals’ Jordan Walker, who moved up 26 spots to No. 4, and the Phillies’ Andrew Painter and the Brewers’ Jackson Chourio, who both went from off the list to the Top 10.
There are 33 players from last year’s Top 100 who have graduated from prospect status, with Julio Rodríguez and Michael Harris II in the NL taking the Rookie of the Year awards. Bobby Witt Jr. and Adley Rutschman, who were Nos. 1 and 2 on the list, both got Rookie of the Year votes, with Rutschman finishing second and Witt coming in fourth.
The list has seen a decrease in pitchers, with 29 percent of the list being made up of pitchers, compared to 50 percent in 2011 and 47 percent in 2018-19. Outfielders make up the largest portion of the list, with 27, followed by shortstops (22), catchers (9), third basemen (7), first basemen (3) and second basemen (3).
The list also features 14 members of the 2022 Draft class, all of them first-rounders. Of those, Holliday, Jones, Termarr Johnson, Brooks Lee, Kevin Parada, and Elijah Green are all in the top 50.
The 2023 Top 100 Prospects list is a great representation of the future of the game. With new faces, plenty of surprises and an array of talent from the Draft and international markets, it’s sure to be an exciting year for baseball.
Source: www.mlb.com