The first wave of pitchers and catchers reported to spring training this week, which means many top prospects in baseball will soon be on the diamond proving they have what it takes to be big league ballplayers.
While it's always fun trying to forecast how top prospects will perform at the next level, I wanted to identify five different players I believe have been overlooked, but might be just as good as some of the top players in minor league baseball. This isn't necessarily the five most underrated prospects in baseball, but rather five players I believe have flown under the radar that fans should have their eyes on in 2025.
1. Edgar Quero, Chicago White Sox
Although he's an "under the radar" prospect, Edgar Quero is a name baseball fans might be familiar with as he was in the package sent to the Chicago White Sox from the Los Angeles Angels in the Lucas Giolito trade in 2023. The 21-year-old is one of the top backstops in Minor League Baseball and hasn't really gotten the love he deserves.
Quero is currently the eighth-highest ranked catching prospect by MLB Pipeline and has gone unranked by Baseball America. Most outlets appear to have him ranked within the five to ten range , but I believe he can rise to within the top three in 2025, if he's not already there.
Quero was apart of the Angels 2021 international signing class where he signed out of Cuba. Since entering professional baseball at the age of 18, Quero has been a solid model of consistency. At each of his stops in the minors through Triple-A Charlotte, the switch-hitting catcher has posted an OBP north of .360 and a slugging percentage (SLG) north of .460. In over 1500 career plate appearances, Quero has an .849 OPS and a 132 wRC+.
While Quero's bat has always been a difference-maker out of the catcher's position, it was 2024 where he started to make some noise in the prospect space. Among all minor league catchers with at least 400 plate appearances, Quero ranked within the top ten in batting average (.280), OPS (.829), wOBA (.381), and wRC+ (139). Only four other catchers can say they did the same (Cooper Ingle, Rafael Flores, Adrian Del Castillo, Ryan Ignoffo), and Quero happens to be younger than all of them.
Because Quero is a "bat-first" catcher, it is ultimately his defense that has held him back from being one of the premier catching prospects in the game.
His defense has been a work in progress but shouldn't be too much of a sticking point if he continues to excel offensively. Quero has also been overshadowed by the fact that Kyle Teel — another top catching prospect — was traded over to the White Sox in the Garrett Crochet deal with the Boston Red Sox. With Teel in the system now and on a similar trajectory as Quero, the battle for the future full-time catcher role has become that much more interesting, and very well could belong to Quero.