The Toolsiest MLB Prospects In The 2021 Top 100 — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

Image credit: Cristian Pache (Getty Images)

Even after a season when virtually nothing was normal, Baseball America has assembled its annual list of the Top 100 Prospects in baseball. As usual, plenty of debate went into the final product, which was more difficult than normal because of the lack of a minor league season or scouting access at teams’ alternate training sites (and in some cases instructional leagues).

One constant between this list and one presented under normal circumstances, however, is that the final product contains plenty of players with extraordinarily loud sets of tools. Grades from 60 (plus) to 80 (elite) abound throughout, giving the prospects on the list a chance at extremely bright futures.

Even among the Top 100, however, there are echelons. Entering the 2020 season, for example, Wander Franco ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the game, but he wasn’t the prospect with the loudest tools. That title went to White Sox outfielder Luis Robert, who was projected as a 55-grade hitter with plus defense and double-plus power, speed and throwing arm.

Robert showed hints of all those gifts in his debut season, when he ranked in the 96th or better percentiles in sprint speed (29.1 feet per second) and outs above average (7) but also showed the same considerable swing-and-miss issues (32.2% strikeout rate) that he exhibited in the minor leagues.

Robert graduated from prospect consideration and finished second in the balloting for the American League Rookie of the Year award.

In 2021, Franco still reigns as the top prospect in the game, but three players—two hitters and a pitcher—have taken over Robert’s spot as the players in the Top 100 with the loudest tools. To determine the leaders, we took a simple average of each player’s tool grades (five for all position players and anywhere from four to six for pitchers depending on their repertoires.

Using this system, Robert’s grade entering 2020 was 65. This year, the three leaders each come in one tick short, at 64 each. The two hitters who cleared the threshold were the Braves’ Cristian Pache and the Yankees’ Jasson Dominguez. On the pitching side, the honor went to Marlins righthander Sixto Sanchez.

Pache and Sanchez each made their big league debuts in 2020 and saw time during their teams’ respective postseason runs. By contrast, Dominguez, who signed with the Yankees in 2019, still has yet to play an official game. He was not at the Yankees’ alternate training site, either, and didn’t back on the field in front of coaches until the team’s instructional league in the Dominican Republic.

Pache is one of the game’s premier defensive prospects—the average of his speed, arm, and fielding grades is 73.33, the best on the Top 100—but his continually developing offensive skills have helped push him among baseball’s elite. He’s also one of just seven players on the Top 100 who have three 70- or 80-grade tools.

Even without an official professional game on his ledger, Dominguez still sits atop the Yankees Top 30 prospects above two high-end righthanders—Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt—who debuted in 2020. He is a potentially plus hitter, fielder and thrower and earns double-plus marks for his power and speed.

Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is the only other player in the Top 100 with 60s or better across the board. Beyond Pache, Dominguez and Witt, five more players in the Top 100 have average tool scores of 60 or better: outfielders Jo Adell (Angels), Garrett Mitchell (Brewers), Julio Rodriguez (Mariners), C.J. Abrams (Padres) and Adley Rutschman (Orioles)

Rutschman and Pache are the only two position players on the Top 100 with three tools which grade as 70 or better.

To break it down even further, we’ve created categories for Hit Grade (which is the average of each player’s hit and power tools), Hit+Run (the Hit Grade with a player’s speed grade added), Defense Grade (the average of a player’s fielding and arm grades) and Defense+Run (the Defense Grade with a player’s speed added).

When broken down that way, three players in the Top 100 have Hit Grades of 70: Franco, Rutschman and No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson. When speed is factored, the two top scorers are Dominguez and Abrams.

Measured by Defense Grade, Pache is the Top 100’s best fielder, with a score of 75. He’s followed by Rutschman, Ke’Bryan Hayes (Pirates) and Brandon Marsh (Angels), who each earn scores of 65. When speed is factored, Mitchell, the Brewers’ 2020 first-rounder jumps just behind Pache.

RANK	NAME	POSITION	TEAM	HIT	POWER	RUN	FIELD	ARM	HIT GRADE	HIT+RUN	DEFENSE	DEFENSE+RUN	TOOLS AVERAGE
7	Cristian Pache	OF	Braves	45	55	70	80	70	50	56.67	75	73.33	64
91	Garrett Mitchell	OF	Brewers	55	55	80	60	60	55	63.33	60	66.67	62
38	Brandon Marsh	OF	Angels	55	50	60	60	70	52.5	55.00	65	63.33	59
33	Jasson Dominguez	OF	Yankees	60	70	70	60	60	65	66.67	60	63.33	64
11	CJ Abrams	SS	Padres	70	50	80	60	50	60	66.67	55	63.33	62
15	Ke’Bryan Hayes	3B	Pirates	60	50	55	70	60	55	55.00	65	61.67	59
56	Vidal Brujan	2B/SS	Rays	60	40	80	55	50	50	60.00	52.5	61.67	57
16	Bobby Witt Jr.	SS	Royals	60	60	60	60	60	60	60.00	60	60.00	60
13	Jo Adell	OF	Angels	50	70	70	50	60	60	63.33	55	60.00	60
29	Royce Lewis	SS	Twins	45	55	70	55	55	50	56.67	55	60.00	56
66	Andres Gimenez	SS/2B	Indians	50	40	70	60	50	45	53.33	55	60.00	54
32	Drew Waters	OF	Braves	55	55	60	60	55	55	56.67	57.5	58.33	57
17	Randy Arozarena	OF	Rays	55	60	70	50	55	57.5	61.67	52.5	58.33	58
42	Corbin Carroll	OF	D-backs	60	50	70	60	45	55	60.00	52.5	58.33	57
2	Adley Rutschman	C	Orioles	70	70	40	60	70	70	60.00	65	56.67	62
3	Julio Rodriguez	OF	Mariners	60	70	45	55	70	65	58.33	62.5	56.67	60
79	Jose Garcia	SS	Reds	50	50	50	60	60	50	50.00	60	56.67	54
75	Geraldo Perdomo	SS	D-backs	55	40	55	60	55	47.5	50.00	57.5	56.67	53
50	Oneil Cruz	SS	Pirates	50	70	60	50	60	60	60.00	55	56.67	58
72	Brennen Davis	OF	Cubs	50	60	60	50	60	55	56.67	55	56.67	56
90	Bobby Dalbec	3B/1B	Red Sox	40	70	45	50	70	55	51.67	60	55.00	55
43	JJ Bleday	OF	Marlins	60	60	50	55	60	60	56.67	57.5	55.00	57
61	Brendan Rodgers	SS/2B	Rockies	55	55	50	55	60	55	53.33	57.5	55.00	55
4	Jarred Kelenic	OF	Mariners	70	60	55	50	60	65	61.67	55	55.00	59
85	Robert Hassell	OF	Padres	60	50	55	55	55	55	55.00	55	55.00	55
77	Jazz Chisholm	SS	Marlins	40	60	55	55	55	50	51.67	55	55.00	53
93	Kristian Robinson	OF	D-backs	45	70	60	55	50	57.5	58.33	52.5	55.00	56
94	Alek Thomas	OF	D-backs	60	45	60	60	45	52.5	55.00	52.5	55.00	54
65	Ronny Mauricio	SS	Mets	50	50	40	60	60	50	46.67	60	53.33	52
34	Jordan Groshans	SS	Blue Jays	60	60	50	50	60	60	56.67	55	53.33	56
45	Nolan Jones	3B	Indians	60	60	50	50	60	60	56.67	55	53.33	56
73	Noelvi Marte	SS	Mariners	60	55	50	50	60	57.5	55.00	55	53.33	55
83	Heliot Ramos	OF	Giants	50	55	50	55	55	52.5	51.67	55	53.33	53
88	Brice Turang	SS	Brewers	60	40	60	50	50	50	53.33	50	53.33	52
40	Nick Madrigal	2B	White Sox	60	30	60	50	50	45	50.00	50	53.33	50
1	Wander Franco	SS	Rays	80	60	50	50	55	70	63.33	52.5	51.67	59
31	Riley Greene	OF	Tigers	60	55	50	55	50	57.5	55.00	52.5	51.67	54
86	Zac Veen	OF	Rockies	55	60	50	50	55	57.5	55.00	52.5	51.67	54
82	Tyler Freeman	SS	Indians	60	40	50	50	55	50	50.00	52.5	51.67	51
19	Austin Martin	SS/OF	Blue Jays	70	55	55	50	50	62.5	60.00	50	51.67	56
51	Nick Gonzales	2B	Pirates	70	45	55	50	50	57.5	56.67	50	51.67	54
9	Dylan Carlson	OF	Cardinals	55	55	55	55	45	55	55.00	50	51.67	53
78	Ha-Seong Kim	SS	Padres	55	45	55	50	50	50	51.67	50	51.67	51
12	Marco Luciano	SS	Giants	60	70	40	50	60	65	56.67	55	50.00	56
62	Heston Kjerstad	OF	Orioles	50	70	40	50	60	60	53.33	55	50.00	54
41	Joey Bart	C	Giants	45	60	40	50	60	52.5	48.33	55	50.00	51
5	Spencer Torkelson	1B	Tigers	60	80	45	55	50	70	61.67	52.5	50.00	58
71	Jeter Downs	2B/SS	Red Sox	55	55	50	50	50	55	53.33	50	50.00	52
67	Daulton Varsho	C/OF	D-backs	55	50	55	50	45	52.5	53.33	47.5	50.00	51
47	Triston Casas	1B	Red Sox	55	65	40	55	50	60	53.33	52.5	48.33	53
49	Josh Jung	3B	Rangers	60	60	40	50	55	60	53.33	52.5	48.33	53
54	Nolan Gorman	3B	Cardinals	45	70	40	45	60	57.5	51.67	52.5	48.33	52
96	Orelvis Martinez	SS	Blue Jays	60	60	45	40	60	60	55.00	50	48.33	53
97	Austin Hendrick	OF	Reds	50	60	45	40	60	55	51.67	50	48.33	51
48	Francisco Alvarez	C	Mets	50	60	30	50	60	55	46.67	55	46.67	50
18	Alex Kirilloff	OF	Twins	70	60	40	50	50	65	56.67	50	46.67	54
36	Luis Campusano	C	Padres	55	60	30	50	55	57.5	48.33	52.5	45.00	50
53	Keibert Ruiz	C	Dodgers	60	45	30	55	50	52.5	45.00	52.5	45.00	48
92	Tyler Soderstrom	C	Athletics	60	60	40	40	55	60	53.33	47.5	45.00	51
39	Trevor Larnach	OF	Twins	50	60	40	45	50	55	50.00	47.5	45.00	49
21	Andrew Vaughn	1B	White Sox	60	60	30	50	50	60	50.00	50	43.33	50
87	Michael Busch	2B	Dodgers	60	60	45	40	45	60	55.00	42.5	43.33	50
60	Ryan Jeffers	C	Twins	55	50	20	60	45	52.5	41.67	52.5	41.67	46
63	Ryan Mountcastle	OF	Orioles	60	60	50	40	30	60	56.67	35	40.00	48
70	Alejandro Kirk	C	Blue Jays	70	50	20	45	50	60	46.67	47.5	38.33	47

For Sanchez, 2021 marks the second straight year he’s held at least a share of the title of most tooled-up pitcher in the minors. His fastball ranks as a true 80—just one of five in the Top 100—and his changeup grades as a potential double-plus. Both grades are bumps up from 2020, when he entered the year with a 70 fastball and 60 changeup.

Sanchez’s slider also ticked up a half-grade, and he added a curveball that could potentially reach above-average as well. In fact, Sanchez’s only tool to remain static year over year was his control, which projects as plus.

Sanchez isn’t the only Marlin with a tantalizing set of tools, either. Max Meyer, Miami’s choice at No. 3 overall, ranks second among pitchers with an average tool grade of 62.5. His pitch mix includes a double-plus fastball and slider, a potentially above-average grades on his changeup and control.

Mathematically, Meyer’s lack of a fourth pitch helped him overtake Toronto righthander Nate Pearson by half a point. Pearson, who ranks No. 14 on the Top 100, mixes an 80-grade fastball with a double-plus slider, above-average changeup, average curveball and above-average control.

Pearson was inconsistent in his big league debut but finished the year with a dominant two-inning stint in the playoffs in which he struck out five hitters.

RANK	NAME	POSITION	TEAM	FB	CB	SL	CH	CTRL	OTHER	TOOLS AVERAGE
6	Sixto Sanchez	RHP	Marlins	80	55	55	70	60		64.00
44	Max Meyer	RHP	Marlins	70		70	55	55		62.50
14	Nate Pearson	RHP	Blue Jays	80	50	70	55	55		62.00
37	Asa Lacy	LHP	Royals	70	55	60	60	55		60.00
98	Matt Allan	RHP	Mets	70	60		60	50		60.00
22	Grayson Rodriguez	RHP	Orioles	70	50	60	55	60		59.00
10	MacKenzie Gore	LHP	Padres	60	55	60	60	60		59.00
28	Casey Mize	RHP	Tigers	60	50	60	70	55		59.00
95	Jackson Kowar	RHP	Royals	60	50		70	55		58.75
24	Michael Kopech	RHP	White Sox	80	50	60	50	50		58.00
25	Daniel Lynch	LHP	Royals	70	50	60	55	55		58.00
27	Spencer Howard	RHP	Phillies	65	55	60	55	55		58.00
26	Triston McKenzie	RHP	Indians	60	60	55	55	60		58.00
35	Logan Gilbert	RHP	Mariners	60	60	55	60	55		58.00
74	Garrett Crochet	LHP	White Sox	80	60		40	50		57.50
81	Edward Cabrera	RHP	Marlins	70	60		50	50		57.50
30	Matt Manning	RHP	Tigers	60	60		55	55		57.50
100	Shane McClanahan	LHP	Rays	70	60	60	50	45		57.00
57	Emerson Hancock	RHP	Mariners	60	50	55	60	60		57.00
69	Simeon Woods Richardson	RHP	Blue Jays	60	50	55	60	60		57.00
84	Ryan Weathers	LHP	Padres	60		55	50	60		56.25
8	Ian Anderson	RHP	Braves	55	50		60	60		56.25
52	Brailyn Marquez	LHP	Cubs	80	45	60	50	45		56.00
23	Luis Patino	RHP	Rays	70	45	60	55	50		56.00
59	DL Hall	LHP	Orioles	70	55	50	60	45		56.00
20	Tarik Skubal	LHP	Tigers	60	55	60	50	55		56.00
46	Matthew Liberatore	LHP	Cardinals	60	60	50	55	55		56.00
55	Deivi Garcia	RHP	Yankees	55	60	50	60	55		56.00
80	Forrest Whitley	RHP	Astros	60	55	55	60	40	55	54.17
76	Adrian Morejon	LHP	Padres	60	60	45	60	45		54.00
99	Mick Abel	RHP	Phillies	60	45	60	50	55		54.00
64	Clarke Schmidt	RHP	Yankees	60	60		45	50		53.75
68	Josiah Gray	RHP	Dodgers	60		55	45	55		53.75
58	Quinn Priester	RHP	Pirates	60	60	40	50	55		53.00
89	Trevor Rogers	LHP	Marlins	55		55	55	50	50	53.00