I’ve made no secret of my affection for the Baseball America Prospect Handbook. As a general manager, I would read it cover-to-cover, over-and-over, trying to learn as much as I could about every prospect in every system for every team. My copies—yes, plural—arrived at my house last week and I couldn’t help but read through it like a kid ripping open presents on Christmas morning.

During my 20+ years in baseball, as I read through the Handbook, I would highlight and circle players that stood out to me. Players could separate themselves for different reasons, and below I wanted to provide some of these insights through the eyes of the guy who not only traded for Max Fried and Dansby Swanson, but also identified unheralded and under the radar talents in trades (Dylan Moore), waiver claims (Eric O’Flaherty), and minor league free agents (Aaron Small). 

Below is a team-by-team analysis of players who caught my eye for two reasons: (1) they may be underrated in the industry and (2) they may be available in trade. As we move from spring training to Opening Day it will be fascinating to follow these players. You can find every team’s updated Top 30 Prospects here.

Arizona Diamondbacks

No. 17 prospect Druw Jones was the second pick in the 2022 MLB Draft and No. 24 overall prospect in 2023’s BA Top 100. He’s blocked in the majors by Jordan Lawlar and ranks behind Arizona’s 2024 first-round selection and No. 4 prospect Slade Caldwell. And yet, Jones will play the entire season in Double-A at 22 years old, and he’s a plus defender with plus speed and power potential who takes walks and steals bases.

Athletics

If the Athletics make a run this year, one potential name of interest may be a 6-foot senior sign righthanded pitcher from a small school who will turn 24 years old in June. No. 18 prospect Zane Taylor also touched 98, had a 1.98 ERA, 9.55 K-BB ratio (!), and his 73% strike rate was fourth-best among college pitchers with at least 500 four-seamers in 2025. Taylor could be a fast mover and asking for older senior signs in trades is usually not considered passe.

Atlanta Braves

The Braves’ payroll is the highest in franchise history and the team that won six straight NL East titles from 2018 to 2023 missed the playoffs last year. If they can make a deal at the deadline, No. 18 prospect Landon Beidelschies could be of interest to several teams. Beidelschies ranked No. 72 in the 2025 draft by Baseball America, and he’s a 6-foot-3 lefthander with two above-average offerings who performed in the SEC. 

Baltimore Orioles

The $2.5 million bonus that No. 18 Wilfri De La Cruz received from the Cubs in January 2025 paced their international signing class. He was traded less than seven months later for reliever Andrew Kittredge at the MLB trade deadline. De La Cruz reminds me of Johan Camargo with more speed. He’s a switch-hitting shortstop with advanced plate discipline at a young age (46 walks vs. 36 strikeouts in pro debut). And he’s already been traded.

Boston Red Sox

Acquired as part of the April 2025 trade that sent Quinn Priester to Milwaukee, No. 14 prospect John Holobetz is a bigger version of Zane Taylor with a funkier delivery and more professional success, including a career 6.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Boston is loaded with starting pitching at the MLB level and seven of its top 10 prospects in the Handbook are also starting pitchers. Holobetz is listed as a reliever and, like Wilfri De La Cruz, he’s already been traded, but there is upside here if he can improve his offspeed stuff.

Chicago Cubs

No. 14 prospect Jostin Florentino is a 6-foot, 175-pound righthander with a 88-92 mph fastball and average offspeed stuff. According to his preseason scouting report, his stuff plays up because of a “staggeringly low 4-foot-8” release point and includes a sweeper that averages 2,700-2,800 rpm. That’s why Florentino has a career 2.61 ERA and 176 strikeouts vs. 45 walks in 152 innings and only five homers (!) allowed as a professional. To put this into context, Nestor Cortes, a productive MLB starter, allowed five homers in two innings against the Yankees on Opening Day 2025. 

Chicago White Sox

One of the reasons I was able to acquire Max Fried from the Padres in December 2014 was that he had Tommy John surgery in August 2014 and was “light years away” from his MLB debut. The same could be said of No. 22 Blake Larson, who was drafted in the second round of 2024 and has still not pitched in a professional game. To be clear, it’s unfair to compare anybody to Fried, but Larson is a lefty and four of the White Sox top 13 prospects are lefthanders, so it’s dealing a lottery ticket from an area of strength.

Cincinnati Reds

Speaking of depth, nobody has more at shortstop than the Reds, with all-star Eury De La Cruz and Matt McLain in the majors and three shortstops ranked among their top seven prospects: No. 4 Tyson Lewis, No. 5 Steele Hall (selected ninth overall in the 2025 MLB Draft), and No. 7 Edwin Arroyo. That’s why No. 23 Liberts Aponte, who signed for $1.9 million in January 2025, a plus defender who posted an .829 OPS as a 17-year-old, would be a trade target.

Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians control MLB catcher Bo Naylor, a 25-year-old with two years of MLB service, for at least the next four seasons and 33-year-old backup Austin Hedges may catch into his 40s. On the farm, No. 10 prospect Cooper Ingle has a career .407 OBP. That’s why No. 14 prospect Jacob Cozart is interesting. He’s an advanced defender with offensive upside and baseball bloodlines. His father, Craig, is a big part of Perfect Game and brother Sam is a 6-foot-7, 240-pound freshman pitcher at Texas. Cozart warmed up with the weather, posting an OPS of .800 or better in the second half of the season, and will return to Double-A at age 23 in 2026.   

Colorado Rockies

Leadership regime changes can often make former top prospects more available in trade talks because they don’t have the emotional attachment to these players (see: the Max Fried trade). No. 18 Zac Veen was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft and a perennial member of BA’s Top 100 Prospects from 2021-2023. Veen will play all of 2026 at 24 years old, repeating Triple-A in a hitter’s paradise where he had .819 OPS last season. Remember, Kyle Stowers didn’t break out in the majors until last year, following a trade from the Orioles to the Marlins, during his age-27 season. Veen has time.

Detroit Tigers

Sticking with a buy-low on former top prospects, No. 20 prospect Thayron Liranzo ranked as the No. 69 overall prospect in the 2025 Baseball America Top 100. His stock has dropped quickly, the result of a 31.7% strikeout rate in Double-A. Liranzo, a switch-hitting catcher who produces great exit velocities when he connects and is still only 22 years old, was added to the 40-man roster this offseason and will return to Double-A in 2026. Detroit is all-in for the 2026 Tarik Skubal farewell tour, so don’t be surprised if Liranzo is a hot name at the trade deadline.  

Houston Astros

Houston has some intriguing power arms in the back half of its Top 30, featuring high strikeout and walk totals. No. 24 Alonzo Tredwell is most intriguing to me. He uses his 6-foot-8 frame to create impressive leverage and deception, and struck out 40 batters over 23 Double-A innings to end the 2025 season. He also walked 12 batters over that stretch and has a length injury history, including Tommy John surgery in high school, back injury in college and a shoulder injury in his pro debut. The control issues and injury history might make him available from an Astros team looking to return to the playoffs, but Tredwell is still only 23 years old, and control often develops later for 6-foot-8 pitchers. This is an interesting lottery ticket.

Kansas City Royals

Kansas City has the best shortstop on the planet, Bobby Witt Jr., signed through at least 2030. Third baseman Maikel Garcia, also under control through 2030 and an all-star himself in 2025, could slide to short if Witt Jr. were to miss any time. And the Royals have a bunch of shortstop prospects, including: No. 5 prospect Josh Hammond, No. 11 Yandel Ricardo and No. 21 Warren Calcano. They also have No. 22 prospect Ramcell Medina, who had 31 walks vs. 26 strikeouts and an .802 OPS as a 17-year old in the Dominican Summer League in 2025. If Kansas City makes a trade addition at this summer’s deadline, they may consider trading from an area of strength with Medina.

 Los Angeles Angels

I did a podcast for angelswin.com a few weeks ago and they asked me for a sleeper prospect in the Angels system. At that time, I hadn’t done the research to provide a proper answer. Now that I have the Handbook in my clutches, I am prepared to answer with No. 20 prospect C.J. Gray, an intriguing athlete with Division I offers to play quarterback, who signed for $1.25 million as a fifth-round pick in 2025. Gray sits 94-96 mph touching 99 with developing offspeed and the best pitchers are athletes. This is a sleeper.

Los Angeles Dodgers

While the Dodgers get blasted for outspending teams (which is true), they also do a great job in pro scouting and have acquired several top prospects in trades, including: No. 3 prospect Mike Sirota (from Reds), No. 4 prospect Zyhir Hope (Cubs), No. 5 prospect Jackson Ferris (Cubs), No. 12 prospect Christian Zazueta (Yankees), and No. 14 prospect Adam Serwinowski (Reds). Originally a 15th-round pick, Serwinowski is a 6-foot-5 lefthander with a funky delivery and a plus fastball. There is big upside here, as evidenced by his career 30.6% strikeout rate, especially if he can improve his control and command. Lefties come later, and having already been traded once, Serwinowski should be a target for other teams as the Dodgers look to three-peat in 2026. 

Miami Marlins

There’s a difference between a new regime inheriting a top prospect they didn’t draft—like the Rockies with Zac Veen and the Padres with Max Fried—and a new regime inheriting a top prospect they didn’t draft and watching that prospect go backward for two years. The latter is what has happened with the Marlins and No. 25 prospect Noble Meyer. Meyer is still 21 years old and would be a draft-eligible college junior if he had not signed as the No. 10 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of high school. He’s still 6-foot-5 and had 72 strikeouts over 65 High-A innings in 2025 at 20 years old. If I am running another club, I am calling on Meyer as a buy-low target.

Milwaukee Brewers

No. 28 prospect Josh Knoth intrigued me in 2023 because he was very young in the draft, a fresh arm from the Northeast, with good stuff who could spin breaking stuff at more than 3,000 rpm. Knoth remains intriguing following an impressive pro debut in 2024 (96 strikeouts in 84 Low-A innings) and Tommy John surgery in 2025. He will return at some point this season, but is years away for a Milwaukee team that has won the NL Central title each of the past three seasons. There’s risk here considering he hasn’t cracked 100 pro innings entering his fourth season, but there is also reward. 

Minnesota Twins

The Twins are unlikely to be competitive in 2026 and are more likely to add prospects than subtract them in trades. That said, we can’t just skip over Minnesota (even if most MLB teams will this season) and a pitcher who caught my eye was No. 18 prospect James Ellwanger. I like pitchers from Texas and I like athletes, and Ellwanger has big league stuff and a knack for missing bats at both Dallas Baptist and the Cape Cod League. Time will tell if he ends up in the rotation or bullpen, but there is big stuff and upside here.

New York Mets

No. 10 prospect Elian Peña was the third player—alongside Nolan McLean and Jonathan Santucci—in a fictitious win-win deal for Tarik Skubal that I wrote about a few weeks ago. Peña signed for around $5 million in January 2025, began his professional career 0-for-26, and still wound up hitting .292/.421/.528 with 21 steals and 38 walks vs. 38 strikeouts. Peña may have to move to third base, but I think the bat will play anywhere. After the signing of Dominican shortstop Wandy Asigen with the Mets’ quest for their first World Series title since 1986, Peña could be a name many teams seek in a trade.

New York Yankees

I wrote about Damon Oppenheimer a few weeks ago. Reading about No. 11 Mac Heuer, a 6-foot-5 power arm the Yankees drafted in the seventh round out of Texas Tech in 2025, it’s hard to not to think about Cam Schlitter, a 6-foot-6 power arm the Yankees drafted in the eighth round out of Northeastern in 2022. Heuer has the power build and stuff to make a similar leap to Schlitter. The Handbook also tells me that Heuer raised an ewe named Oakley who won grand champion at the 2022 Georgia Junior National Livestock Show.

Philadelphia Phillies

Although he will turn 25 years old in three months, entering the 2026 season, No. 20 prospect Gabe Craig has only three innings as a professional. A fifth-round pick out of Baylor in 2025 who pitched for six years in college, it’s an older relief profile. So why is he on this list? Because Craig comes armed with a 60-grade fastball and a 70-grade slider, good for a 50% strikeout rate in those three innings as a professional, and a 45.1% strikeout rate in his draft year. Pitchers who miss bats at that clip with those weapons can be a valuable part of an MLB bullpen. Given his age and lack of pro experience, he’s also likely not off-limits in a trade.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Prospect hounds are dreamers. They see something special and wonder “what if” we could fix this, could it lead to that? No. 16 prospect Reinold Navarro is a 5-foot-11 lefthander with a 70-grade fastball and 60-grade slider. He has a career 40.9% strikeout rate and .098 average allowed (for context, in his 2023 pro debut, Paul Skenes had a 35.7% strikeout rate and .192 average allowed). Navarro also has a career 26.8% walk rate and 1.56 WHIP (Skenes: 7.1% walk rate and 1.05 WHIP). The variance of outcomes here ranges from Billy Wagner to Nuke LaLoosh.

St. Louis Cardinals

I love No. 13 prospect Ryan Mitchell and think he will take a big jump forward this year. However, he was the No. 55 pick and signed for $2.25 million less than nine months ago, so he won’t be traded any time soon. No. 19 Cooper Hjerpe probably won’t be traded either, but he would be the type of player that I would target because he’s hurt (Tommy John surgery in spring 2025) and he was drafted by the pre-Chaim Bloom administration. Hjerpe was pretty good before he got hurt, and, if he comes back stronger from TJ, there could be real upside here.

San Diego Padres

Yes, he’s already 26 years old, but No. 23 prospect Garrett Hawkins might be the safest-bet on this list to reach the majors.

Power build? Check.

Good stuff? Check.

Performer? Check.

Already had Tommy John surgery (in 2024)? Check.

Late-bloomer from cold weather area (Canada)? Check.

Close to MLB? Check.

Hawkins is the type of pitcher who may get overlooked because he wasn’t a high pick and is older, but he could be a legitimate piece in an MLB bullpen for a long time. And in A.J. Preller’s world, everybody is available. 

San Francisco Giants

No. 2 prospect Josuar Gonzalez ranked 30th in BA’s Top 100 and it’s hard not to get excited about his future. But I also really like his double-play partner last year in the DSL: No. 30 prospect Yulian Barreto.

Barreto, himself a plus defender with a plus arm who slid to second base in deference to Gonzalez, is actually five months younger than Gonzalez and had a higher batting average (.322 vs .288) and on-base percentage (.449 vs. .404) than Gonzalez. While he may not have the same upside as Gonzalez, there is an MLB future for Barreto and the former’s presence may increase the latter’s availability as the Giants seek to reclaim the NL West. 

Seattle Mariners

As you can tell by how the Braves drafted and traded from 2015-2017, pitching has always been my jam. That’s why I like No. 27 prospect Grant Knipp more on the mound than behind the plate. Knipp had Tommy John surgery in spring 2025, but pre-surgery was 93-96 mph with a 55-grade curveball as a pitcher. He also hit .402 in his draft year as a catcher with a plus-plus arm. I feel there is a buy-low on players coming back from Tommy John surgery (Max Fried, A.J. Minter, Jesse Biddle) and that two-way players have big upside (Freddie Freeman, Fried, Austin Riley). It will be fascinating to watch Knipp progress.

Tampa Bay Rays

Center fielder Homer Bush Jr. ranked 22nd in the Prospect Handbook, but has since fallen off the list after the Rays swung several deals ahead of spring training. Still, he’s the type of player who can be part of an MLB championship team because of his plus-plus speed, plus center field defense and hitting ability, as he won the 2025 Southern League batting title. However, it’s zero power, as the Handbook tells us that Bush Jr. was one of only six homerless minor league players with 450+ plate appearances last season, and he outweighed the other five by 35-60 pounds. There’s value here, although it may be a bit redundant in the same organization as Chandler Simpson. 

Texas Rangers

According to the Handbook, No. 9 prospect Leandro Lopez has three above-average pitches (fastball, slider and curveball) and average control. That’s good MLB value, but the numbers say he can be much more: 2.40 ERA last year between High-A and Double-A at 22 years old, career 32.1% strikeout rate and career .195 average allowed. Hitters don’t hit Lopez, and as his control has improved, he’s taken off. He’s also lefthanded. There are six pitchers ranked ahead of Lopez in the Rangers’ Top 30 Prospects. He could end up being better than all of them.

Toronto Blue Jays

Players who tend to get hurt stay hurt, and the biggest predictor of future injury is past injury. Nobody knows if No. 26 Brandon Barriera will ever be healthy enough to maximize the talent that got him $3.6 million as the 23rd pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. Barriera is arguably the riskiest player on this list and that’s why he could be available in the right deal, but lefties come later and he’s still 22 years old with top-shelf stuff when he’s on the mound. He’s not going to headline a deal, but he’s intriguing as a piece with big upside.  

Washington Nationals

While there is room for improvement with his plate discipline, No. 21 prospect Caleb Lomavita has hit everywhere: .302 average at California (where he was taken No. 39 overall in 2024), .323 over two summers in the Cape Cod League, and .275 in his first full season mostly in High-A. Lomavita reminds me a little bit of Kyle Higashioka, who has been a productive MLB player on really good teams for a really long time. Washington’s new regime didn’t draft Lomavita in 2024 and they also acquired Harry Ford in December 2025 to be their catcher of the future. This could be a buy-low at a premium position.