MLB Top 125 Prospects: The Top 25

25. Lewis Brinson, OF, Milwaukee Brewers, Brewers #1

Brinson has always been known for his five plus-level tools, and he’s been making significant progress to turn those raw tools into production on the field through some adjustments to his swing to help reduce his strikeouts and make better contact with the ball. Brinson was part of a very high-octane, high-strikeout offense in the Rangers system early in his career that featured multiple top prospects, but he’s shown to be the guy who has come the farthest as far as polishing his tools into on-field production. Brinson has also shown the most defensively along the way, which has allowed him to provide value while working on his bat. His defense in center is excellent as he’s worked to improve his routes to balls to compliment his plus speed and plus arm. He’ll likely open in AAA in 2017, and he could still use to work a walk more frequently as his aggressive approach at the plate has cut down on overall strikeouts but still does not lead to many walks, but he could jump quickly with big production for the Colorado Springs club.

24. Manuel Margot, OF, San Diego Padres, Padres #2

Margot was part of the big haul the Padres got from the Red Sox in the Craig Kimbrel deal, and he’s shown to be even closer to ready than many thought he was coming into the deal. He has always been known for his elite defense in center field, and that was certainly present in 2016. He also showed his plus contact ability and double-plus speed offensively, using his speed well to get extra bases. Margot also has tremendous strike zone judgement, though he doesn’t walk much, as he only strikes out roughly 11% of the time. In a previous era, he’d be a perfect #2 hitter with elite speed, solid gap power that can be even more and excellent contact skills that won’t strike out a ton. Even in the modern era, that’s a bat you want early in your lineup.

23. Jose De Leon, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers, Dodgers #3

While it is clear for me where the #1 Dodger prospect ranks, #2 and #3 are so close that I actually switched them out at times right up to publishing the list, and therefore, you see only a couple spots difference on this list as well. De Leon is the “low” man here, but still within the top 25 as a former 24th round draft pick that took a measly $35K signing bonus to one of the most elite pitching prospects in the game. He has fought through some injury along the way, but he’s developed his pitch mix to really be three elite pitches, with a change that gets plenty of swing and miss and a slider with an exceptional break that seems to move two distinct times, allowing it to be an excellent pitch to miss barrels and get weak contact. Add in a fastball with a ton of movement, and you have a pitch mix that should allow De Leon to play up to a front line pitcher very quickly and quite possibly push for the Dodger rotation this season.

22. Michael Kopech, RHP, Chicago White Sox, White Sox #4

I mentioned this in the team write up about him, but when a teammate that is charting a game sees 105 MPH cross the gun and doesn’t think “the gun might be off here” or “that doesn’t seem right”, that tells you the type of velocity that Kopech’s teammates are simply used to seeing come from him. While the validity of 105 can be questioned, Kopech has been known to hit 103 and certainly can top triple digits, which is why many know his name. However, perhaps more should be known. Kopech also has a slider that flashes plus, and his change is very consistent, even if it is more of an average pitch in true effectiveness, it’s one he can control and keep in the zone. Kopech has struggled with his delivery due to the tremendous veracity that he uses in his delivery to generate the velocity he does. That can throw him off-balance and cause his command to struggle, but he has done well working with coaching on simplifying his delivery without sacrificing velocity, and even if he does end up having to move to the bullpen, this is a guy who could throw a legit 105 in short spurts, so to rank him at this level is quite justified.

21. Cody Bellinger, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers, Dodgers #2

Bellinger is one of the more difficult guys for me to rank. His father Clay Bellinger was a major league player, and he has the size that you’d love, but I am just a touch concerned that the swing changes he made to go from a line drive, high average, James Loney type of hitter to the guy who knocked out 30 home runs in 2015 alone (and followed up with 23 this year) will be changes that will be exploited at the major league level by elite pitchers. He struggles with keeping a consistent bat path, and that has led to some of his issues with consistent contact. While he still maintains tremendous contact ability, such that he has kept his strikeout rate very reasonable, he does get into funks where he’s off in his path and doesn’t get the best part of the bat on the ball, leading to easy outs via pop ups. That is one of the by-products that the recent trend in swings that sell out for loft and driving the ball, but most of the guys who make that shift didn’t have the ability to hit .300 before they made the change, which is why it’s sometimes tough to see with Bellinger. Regardless, the power in the swing is real, and if he can work to keep getting to the barrel well, he’ll be able to be a force soon in the big leagues. While he has the athleticism and arm to play int he outfield, he is an elite defender at first, and that can have its own value, especially with Adrian Gonzalez a free agent after 2018.

Next: #16-20