Predicting MLB's No. 1 prospect of the 2027 season: Which top players will soar up the rankings?

Earlier this week, CBS Sports published our annual list of Major League Baseball's top prospects. Unlike in years past, when we capped our rankings to 50 names, this year we stretched all the way to 100 players. A piece like that takes a lot of time and effort to put together. That's why, naturally, the moment we wrapped up the list we asked ourselves a question: who will be ranked No. 1 next year?

Ranking the top 100 MLB prospects: Kevin McGonigle, Jesús Made, Konnor Griffin lead top young talent

R.J. Anderson

Below, you'll find 10 prospects, arranged in tiers, who seem to have some of the best odds.

Do note that this particular exercise isn't just about evaluating the players in question. It's also about making educated guesses as to who will or will not be spend enough time in the majors to burn their rookie (and therefore their prospect) eligbility. If you don't see your favorite prospect's name, it's likely because we anticipate he'll graduate from prospect status this season -- think Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt or Orioles slugger Samuel Basallo. 

Got it? Good. Let's roll.

Tier 1: The favorites -- if they're still in the minors

Again, a key component of this exercise is correctly guessing who will (and will not) retain their prospect eligibility after the upcoming season.

Consider Pirates infielder Konnor Griffin. He's 19 years old and has just over 120 professional appearances to his credit. Normally, you would feel safe predicting he'll be on next spring's list. Yet the Pirates have already signaled that they're willing to give Griffin a chance at winning a job on the Opening Day roster. Once you crack the door, it's only a matter of time before the player steps through. Griffin, in turn, is not part of this article because we anticipate him losing his rookie eligibility.

Instead, here are three top talents we feel will be in contention next spring. 

1. Jesús Made, SS, Brewers

Made is an explosive shortstop with the chance to develop into a plus contributor on both sides. He's a switch-hitter who batted .285/.379/.413 across three levels in 2025, including a small cameo in Double-A to close out the year. We're conservatively predicting his debut will occur next year, however, because he won't celebrate his 19th birthday until May. The Brewers have no reason to rush Made, not when the dream outcome here is him serving as the long-term face of the franchise. (For those wondering, outfielder Jackson Chourio debuted a little more than two weeks after turning 20.) 

2. Sebastian Walcott, SS/3B, Rangers

As with Made, Walcott is a teenage shortstop with an impressive track record. He spent last season in Double-A, where he hit .255/.355/.386 with 13 home runs and 32 stolen bases. Walcott has massive strength, but he needs to work on elevating the ball more often. He also needs to either improve his shortstop defense or move over to third base on a permanent basis. Walcott will turn 20 in March, meaning the Rangers can afford to give him time to fully flesh out his game.

3. Colt Emerson, SS/3B, Mariners

Emerson is someone we've been higher on than other publications over the last few years. The elevator pitch is that he's a talented left-handed hitter with a chance to stick at shortstop. Split between three levels in 2025, he batted .285/.383/.458 with 16 home runs and 14 stolen bases. In most situations, he would be a shoo-in to debut this season. He might still, but we're playing it safe because the Mariners have J.P. Crawford and Cole Young ahead of him on the depth chart and are reportedly still looking to upgrade at the position this offseason.

Tier 2: The next group

This group consists of players who are ranked a little lower than the aforementioned three, but who can (and will) ascend over the coming months -- potentially all the way to the top of the list.

4. Max Clark, CF, Tigers

Clark is a quality center fielder who has long drawn comparisons to Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong. That said, the two have diverged at the plate. Whereas Crow-Armstrong is a grip-and-rip specialist, Clark's approach remains more contact-orientated. He hit .271/.403/.432 with 14 home runs and 19 stolen bases across two levels last year. It's possible the Tigers could push him to the majors this season, but we're being conservative here because he only just celebrated his 21st birthday and he has fewer than 50 Double-A games to his name.

5. Josue De Paula, OF, Dodgers
6. Eduardo Quintero, OF, Dodgers

We're pairing the Dodgers entrants for obvious reasons. De Paula is a big lefty hitter with massive strength and a patient approach. He still needs to work on lifting the ball more frequently if he's going to live up to the Yordan Alvarez comparisons that often get thrown his way. Quintero, meanwhile, has power and strength as well. He might be a touch too passive at the plate and he's slightly overshadowed by playing in the same system as De Paula and Zyhir Hope. 

7. Edward Florentino, OF, Pirates

Likewise, the hype machine isn't fully behind Florentino because he's part of the same Pirates system that counts Konnor Griffin and Bubba Chandler among its members. Don't sleep on him, though, because he's a promising lefty hitter who batted .262/.380/.503 as a teenager in the Florida State League. All the underlying data is pointing in the right direction too, suggesting that if he progresses as expected he could turn into a middle-of-the-order force.

8. Luis Peña, INF, Brewers

Peña gets overshadowed by Made in the Brewers system, but he's a promising young infielder himself. He batted .270/.335/.422 with nine home runs and 44 stolen bases in his first 96 games outside of the complex league. Not bad for someone who played the entire season as an 18 year old. Peña has impressive tools, particularly his power and speed, though it's to be seen where he ends up defensively. 

Tier 3: The top of the draft

We're including the top prospect in this summer's draft as a dark horse candidate. Realistically, it's tough to see any player establishing themselves as the game's best minor-league prospect that quickly -- seeing consistency over longer durations is part of the evaluative process. 

Nonetheless, this exercise is for entertainment purposes only, so why not have a little fun?

9. Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA

Cholowsky is the odds-on favorite to go No. 1 at this point because of a well-rounded game and demonstrated track record of success. He's a career .333/.446/.618 hitter with 31 home runs and 13 stolen bases in 118 collegiate games. Cholowsky ought to stick at shortstop, in part because of his athletic gifts and in part because of his feel for the game, giving him multiple ways to help a club. The chances of him ascending the minor-league prospect list in less than a year's time are slim, but he's a quality player and he deserves a nod here.

Tier 4: Any pitchers?

You may have noticed that each of the nine players mentioned thus far are position players. That's not a coincidence. All of the pitchers ranked highly on our list are nearing their graduation and, as a general rule of thumb, we tend to be conservative when it comes to forecasting younger arms. There's just too much that can go wrong. Still, we feel obligated to mention at least one pitcher. Here goes nothing.

10. Thomas White, LHP, Marlins

White is a physical left-hander who made a number of tweaks to his arsenal last season, speaking to his coachability and drive to improve. He now complements his mid-90s rising fastball and sweeping slider with a new-look changeup and cutter/slider that bridges his offerings. White still needs to reduce his walk rate if he wants to develop into a front-of-the-rotation starter. There's a catch-22 at play, then, because if he starts throwing more strikes he'll soar up prospects rankings … but he'd probably find himself in the majors at that point, too, eliminating his chances of topping this list next year. Oh well. We'll find out which way his stock and his season goes soon enough.