The 5 best hitting prospects in MLB are going to change the game

With the 2025 MLB season approaching, prospect rankings become more and more relevant as many prospects will receive invites to big league spring training with an opportunity to either make an MLB roster or make a name for themselves moving forward.

MLB Pipeline and Baseball America recently released their preseason top 100 prospect rankings, so I've ranked my top five pitching prospects in baseball and will now be shifting my attention to the top five hitting prospects in baseball.

Whether they've already reached the majors, are on the cusp of debuting, or are just getting started, these are the five best position players I believe we will see making an impact at the big league level at some point.

1. Roman Anthony, Boston Red Sox

Roman Anthony appears to be the consensus top prospect in baseball for those that don't consider Roki Sasaki a prospect — and for good reason. The 20-year-old outfielder was drafted in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft and has done nothing but perform at a high level at each stop in the minors.

Anthony finished his strong 2024 campaign with 35 games at Triple-A Worcester where he put together a slash line of .344/.463/.519 along with a 162 wRC+ over 164 plate appearances. Between 2023 and 2024 at Double-A Portland (the hardest league of the minors to hit in according to league-wide numbers), Anthony hit 16 home runs with an .873 OPS and a 147 wRC+ over 420 plate appearances. His OPS and wRC+ both ranked in the top five at Double-A within that time frame.

Anthony possesses a 60 grade with both his hit tool and power tool, displaying an above-average ability to get on base and consistently make hard contact to all fields. He has an advanced approach at the plate, and while his strikeout numbers are a little higher than league average, he makes solid swing decisions which result in a higher walk rate than normal too. It also allows him to access his power stroke more often.

On top of being one of the most well-rounded bats in the game, Anthony also stole 20 bases for the first time in 2024, and there's no reason why he shouldn't be able to do the same at the big league level if he continues to get on base at a high clip. If that's the case, you're looking at a legitimate 30 home run/20 stolen base threat anually.

Anthony has spent the majority of his time in center field, where there are questions on whether he will stick long-term or shift over to a corner spot. Because of his pure athleticism and baseball instincts, it's safe to say he has the potential to be a plus defender at either position at the next level. Depending on the health of the Red Sox, you might see Anthony patrolling the outfield as soon as Opening Day.

2. Walker Jenkins, Minnesota Twins

Coming in second is the youngest player on this list: Minnesota Twins 19-year-old phenom Walker Jenkins. Jenkins was drafted fifth overall in the 2023 MLB Draft out of South Brunswick High School in North Carolina. Jenkins turns 20 on February 19, but despite his youth, the outfielder is one of the most mature hitters in minor league baseball.

While he did battle an injury early on in 2024, Jenkins put together a very impressive season, advancing all the way to Double-A Wichita before the end of the year. Across four levels of the minors, Jenkins posted a slash line of .282/.394/.439 with a 139 wRC+. Among players 19 years old or younger across all levels of the minors, his wRC+ ranked eighth while his OBP and .833 OPS both ranked within the top 15.

Perhaps the most impressive part of his game is his plate discipline. Since he entered Minnesota's system following the 2023 draft, he carries a 1.07 BB/K with a 13.5 BB% and just a 12.6 K%. He does a great job of living up to his first name.

On top of that, his ability to pick and choose the right pitches to hit puts him in a good position to hit the ball hard often. His raw power numbers are average for a prospect his age, but he'll likely tap into more of that power if he sticks to his approach as he gets older and really grows into his 6'3" frame.

While his lower body injury early in the season kept him in a DH role for a large part of 2024, Jenkins will hopefully get a lot more time in center field where he has a 55-grade glove and a 60-grade arm. That will play at any outfield position, but it looks like Jenkins has a better shot at sticking in center field long-term than Roman Anthony.

On top of the glove, Jenkins has also shown the ability to run the bases well as he stole 17 bases in 2024. Once again, this is another 30 home run/20 stolen base threat at the major league level if he continues on his current trajectory.

3. Dylan Crews, Washington Nationals

Dylan Crews might be the name on this list most baseball fans are familiar with given that he is the only player among the five to make his MLB debut in 2024. Following his strong sophomore campaign at LSU in 2022, Crews entered the 2023 season as the top draft prospect in the MLB Draft. He was projected to be the number one overall pick for a large part of the season until he fell to second overall behind his LSU teammate, Paul Skenes.

With major league at-bats comes Baseball Savant data, which gives us a better look into Crews's game than other prospects who have yet to reach the big leagues. While his normal stat line isn't eye-popping, he was above-average in xwOBA (.325), xSLG (.418), hardhit% (44.7), squared-up% (30.5), chase% (26.6), and whiff% (22.8). Those numbers are as good of a recipe as any for a solid performance over a 162-game season.

While his bat has All-Star potential and will likely land him in the leadoff spot long-term in D.C., Crews's glove and speed is what really completes him as a ballplayer. He stole 12 bases in just 31 games last year, which is nearly 63 steals over a full season. While I wouldn't bank on him stealing 60 bags in 2025, I wouldn't be surprised to see a number north of 40 next to his name by the end of the year, especially if everything clicks at the plate.

Crews has everything you want in a center fielder, but he might stay in right field for the time being just because of how strong and accurate his arm is. More than 90% of his 31 starts came in right field, and it projects to shake out the same way in 2025 with Jacob Young seemingly having the center field job in D.C. locked down for the time being.

Given his skills across the board, Crews might be the best five-tool prospect at the moment and is the favorite among a lot of baseball fans to win the 2025 National League Rookie of the Year.

4. Carson Williams, Tampa Bay Rays

It's hard to make a top five position players list and leave out the best shortstop in the minor leagues. Carson Williams has ranked near the top of many shortstop prospect lists for the past two years, and his game only continues to improve.

As the 28th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, Williams didn't even start focusing on baseball full-time until he was drafted out of high school, which speaks to his natural talent and potential ceiling.

Williams's premier tools are his glove and arm as both are 70-grade attributes. He won the MiLB shortstop Gold Glove and also won team MVP at Double-A Montgomery where he spent the entirety of his 2024 season. His defensive prowess alone is enough to carry him to the big leagues and get him a normal amount of reps.

On top of the glove is his elite speed, which earned him 33 steals in 2024 and 83 over his minor league career thus far. Once again, we're looking at a player with the potential to put up 30 to 40 steals at the next level if he gets on base enough.

Williams hasn't jetted through the Rays system quite like these other prospects have, mainly because of his bat. While 2024 was his best season offensively to date, there are questions about the hit tool. He has struck out at an abov- average rate at each of his stops in the minors and had a 31.4 K% across three levels and 503 plate appearances in 2023.

He did cut his K% from 31.4 to 28.5 in 2024, but there's still a lot of room to improve which is why we're not looking at an MLB debut until mid-to-late 2025 unless he forces Tampa Bay's hand during spring training.

Despite the concerns with his strikeout numbers, Williams still has a lot of power potential. In his pro career, he has hit 62 home runs along with a .478 SLG and .221 ISO. Among Double-A shortstops in 2024, he led with 20 home runs and a .212 ISO, while he ranked within the top three with a .469 SLG and an .821 OPS.

Among the 131 minor league shortstops with at least 400 plate appearances in 2024, his 142 wRC+ ranked fourth overall. If he's making enough contact to pair that type of production with his defense and speed, it's hard not to see a similar profile to Francisco Lindor.

5. Kristian Campbell, Boston Red Sox

Perhaps the biggest riser on many prospect lists is Kristian Campbell, the 22-year-old Georgia Tech product in Boston's system. Campbell took home both MLB Pipeline's Hitting Prospect of the Year award as well as MiLB's Breakout Player of the Year award.

Following the 2023 draft where he wasn't selected until the fourth round, Campbell immediately contributed at the pro level, posting a .911 OPS and a 152 wRC+ across complex ball and High-A Greenville. As he continued to climb through the minors in 2024, Campbell didn't experience any regression. In fact, he only got better. To this point, he has not had a wRC+ lower than 130 at any stop in the minors.

Campbell's most impressive performance thus far can be traced back to his 255 plate appearances at Double-A Portland. His .362 AVG, .463 OBP, .582 SLG, 1.045 OPS, and 197 wRC+ all led Double-A hitters in 2024. Despite only spending a portion of the year in Portland, those numbers earned him Double-A Eastern League MVP honors.

Campbell has really grown as a hitter in recent years, as he has found a way to combine his contact abilities with his huge power potential. He draws a lot of walks and strikes out at a below-average rate, sprays the ball from the right field foul line to the left field foul line, and also possesses a unique ability to hit both right handed and left handed pitchers at a high level. Given that level of versatility, it's much easier to see a reality where his bat plays at the next level than a reality where it doesn't.

The biggest question concerning Campbell is his defensive home. He can play up the middle as well as any outfield position, and while he isn't poor at any given position, he isn't elite at any spot either.

His glove and arm are both 50 grade tools, but his defensive versatility does help to boost his defensive profile. He spent the majority of his time in the field last year in the infield, and it looks like he may be battling for the opening day starting second baseman job in Boston during spring training. If he doesn't break camp with the team, it won't be very long until he's taking the field for the first time at Fenway Park.

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