The future is bright for the NL Central with many talented prospects nearing their MLB debuts
When MLB Pipeline released its top 100 prospects of 2025 list on Friday night, the NL Central found themselves with more prospects on the list than any other division in baseball. Of the 23 NL Central prospects that made MLB Pipeline’s list, two already made their MLB debut during the 2024 season, and 12 will likely debut in 2025. The Cubs lead the NL Central (and are tied with the Mariners for the most in MLB) with seven prospects in the top 100, the Reds have five top 100 prospects, the Brewers and Pirates each have four, and the Cardinals have three. Pittsburgh’s Bubba Chandler, a right-handed starter who is set to make his debut in 2025, is the division’s highest-ranked prospect coming in at No. 15 on MLB Pipeline’s list.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these top prospects and predict how they might end up impacting their respective big league ball clubs. The rankings for each prospect from the three major prospect rankings lists are included below (Baseball Prospectus (BP), Baseball America (BA), and MLB Pipeline (Pipeline)).
Milwaukee Brewers
Jesus Made (BP-No. 35, BA-No. 17, Pipeline No. 56)
Jeferson Quero (BP-No. 61, BA-No. 43, Pipeline No. 47)
Cooper Pratt (BP-No. 63, BA-No. 50, Pipeline No. 57)
Jacob Misiorowski (BP-No. 65, BA-No. 44, Pipeline No. 100)
Misiorowski making his MLB debut in 2025 is pretty much a lock. Fans were hoping he would be a part of the Brewers’ bullpen down the stretch in 2024, but the organization ultimately decided to give Misiorowski one more offseason before calling him up to the majors. He likely won’t be a part of the opening day roster or an early-April call-up, as the Brewers will hope to gain an extra year of control via service time manipulation, but Misiorowski should impact the big league club at some point in 2025.
Quero also has an excellent chance of debuting in 2025. William Contreras and Eric Haase will most likely be the two catchers on the Brewers’ opening day roster, but an injury to either one, or underperformance from Haase, could open the door for Quero to join the major league club.
Made and Pratt’s development will be interesting to watch as they both possess the tools to stick at shortstop defensively and could make it to MLB at similar times. Pratt, who will likely start the year in Double-A, has the upper hand in terms of debuting first over Made, who is likely to start the year in Low-A. It will also be interesting to watch how the beginning of Pratt and Made’s MLB careers coincides with Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang’s careers. If all goes well for the prospects, they will be ready for the big leagues before the Brewers lose Ortiz and Turang to free agency, and the organization will be faced with a difficult decision.
For more information on these four prospects, check out Adam’s article from earlier this week regarding the Baseball America rankings or my article from Friday evening about MLB Pipeline’s rankings.
St. Louis Cardinals
2B/SS JJ Wetherholt (BP-No. 13, BA-No. 25, Pipeline-No. 23)
RHP Think Hence (BP-No. 38, BA-No. 68, Pipeline-No. 45)
LHP Quinn Mathews (BP-No. 27, BA-No. 41, Pipeline-No. 77)
C Jimmy Crooks (BP-No. 88, BA-Not ranked, Pipeline-Not ranked)
Already a member of the Cardinals’ 40-man roster, Hence will almost certainly impact the big league ball club in 2025. Whether that is as a starter or a reliever remains to be answered. Hence has spent his entire career as a starter, possessing an impressive arsenal of pitches that includes an upper-90s fastball, an elite changeup, a slider that saw an uptick in usage in 2024, and a curveball that he is reintroducing to his repertoire. Of his four pitches, the fastball and changeup stand out as being the best two, with the other two needing more development. Hence has also struggled to stay healthy throughout his minor league career, never reaching 100 innings pitched in one season. His reliance on two very good pitches and his injury concerns in the past suggest that Hence might benefit from a move to the bullpen, where he could be a lethal two-pitch reliever.
Drafted in 2023, Mathews started the 2024 season in Low-A and finished at Triple-A. Leading all of the minor leagues with 202 strikeouts last season, Mathews’ three promotions last year were well-earned. He was even named MLB Pipeline’s 2024 pitching prospect of the year. Mathews, who now sits 93-96 on his fastball after adding nearly three mph of velocity last season, throws an excellent changeup that helps his success against righties, a mid-80s slider, and a mid-70s curveball. He will likely start the year at Triple-A, but enough success there could lead to an MLB debut during the 2025 season.
Wetherholt was drafted No. 7 overall by the Cardinals this past season and is likely still a year and a half away from the majors. With an average arm and Masyn Winn looking like a franchise cornerstone, it’s possible Wetherholt transitions into a second baseman in the minor leagues.
After two very solid seasons in 2022 and 2023, Crooks really broke out last season in Double-A slashing .321/.410/.498 with 11 HR in 90 games. Likely starting the year in Triple-A, Crooks appears to be the third-string catcher for the Cardinals, behind Iván Herrera and Pedro Pagés, assuming Willson Contreras’ catching days are behind him.
Chicago Cubs
INF Matt Shaw (BP-No. 26, BA-No. 35, Pipeline-No. 19)
OF Owen Cassie (BP-No. 77, BA-No. 64, Pipeline-No. 54)
RHP Cade Horton (BP-No. 85, BA-No. 54, Pipeline-No. 52)
C Moises Ballesteros (BP-No. 73, BA-No. 62, Pipeline-No. 69)
OF Kevin Alcántara (BP-Not ranked, BA-No. 71, Pipeline-No. 90)
2B/OF James Triantos (BP-Not ranked, BA-Not ranked, Pipeline-No. 73)
SS/2B Jefferson Rojas (BP-Not ranked, BA-Not ranked, Pipeline No. 97)
After trading Isaac Paredes, Shaw is currently penciled in as the Cubs opening day third baseman. He’s third in NL Rookie of the Year odds behind Roki Sasaki and Dylan Crews and has the minor league resume to back it up. Shaw was the 2024 Southern League MVP while playing for the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate. His excellent play earned him a promotion to Triple-A where he got even better, slashing .298/.395/.534 in 35 games. At just 5’9” Shaw has impressive power for his size and can hold his own at 3B even with below-average arm strength.
Horton lost most of the 2024 season to a shoulder injury and while he did avoid surgery, it remains to be seen how the former seventh overall pick will bounce back. Horton is not currently on the Cubs 40-man roster and likely won’t debut until late in the 2025 season. When he does debut, he will be an important addition to the Cubs’ rotation. Horton’s arsenal is built around an elite 70-grade slider, that he pairs with a mid to upper-90s fastball. A solid changeup and curveball round out his arsenal keeping hitters off-balance.
Cassie and Alcántara will spend the 2025 season battling for the Cubs’ fourth outfielder position. Assuming the Cubs start Happ, Crow-Armstrong, and Tucker in the outfield, with Suzuki as the DH, the fourth outfielder position is open. Both Cassie and Alcántara are already on the 40-man roster, and while Alcántara did debut in 2024, Cassie is the better prospect. While both have posted high strikeout rates in the minor leagues, Cassie pairs it with a high walk rate and better power numbers than Alcántara. The one advantage that Alcántara holds is his ability to play all three outfield positions, whereas Cassie is likely to end up in one of the corners.
While Ballesteros and Triantos are not currently on the 40-man roster, it is possible that they both debut in 2025. Ballesteros, who will start the year in Triple-A, looks to be the Cubs third-string catcher, and an injury to or underperformance by either Miguel Amaya or Carson Kelly would likely result in Ballesteros’ debut. Triantos could also join the Cubs MLB roster in 2025, but it remains to be seen which defensive position he will stick at. With excellent hit-and-run tools, Triantos’ biggest question mark is his defense. He’s played both second base and outfield in the minors and is a fringe to average defender at both positions.
Finally, Rojas is a 19-year-old middle infielder who has already logged an entire season at High-A. His game still requires some development, but his excellent pitch recognition and strong arm at shortstop give him a good foundation for success.
Pittsburgh Pirates
RHP Bubba Chandler (BP-No. 21, BA-No. 7, Pipeline-No. 15)
SS/OF Konnor Griffin (BP-No. 86, BA-No. 57, Pipeline-No. 43)
RHP Thomas Harrington (BP-No. 81, BA-No. 74, Pipeline-No. 80)
2B/SS Temarr Johnson (BP-Not ranked, BA-Not ranked, Pipeline-No. 83)
Chandler could be a part of the Pirates’ opening day rotation, but it is likely that Pittsburgh will engage in service time manipulation to gain an extra year of team control, as they did with Skenes in 2024. This means Chandler likely won’t debut until after the first month of the season. While Chandler does have a four-pitch mix, his upper-90s fastball stands out as his best offering. This elite fastball paired with Chandler’s improving secondaries produced a ridiculous 12.36 K/9 in Triple-A last season.
Harrington also has a chance to impact the big league ball club in 2025, after rising from Low-A to Triple-A during the 2024 season. Harrington throws a low-90s fastball but backs it up with four secondary pitches, including a cutter that averages five less mph than his four-seam, a slider, a splitter, and a curveball. He commands each of these pitches very well and has led the entire Pirates organization in BB/K ratio for the last two seasons.
Griffin, who the Pirates drafted ninth overall, was the first high schooler taken in last year’s draft. At just 18 years old, Griffin’s swing unexpectedly requires some development, but he possesses some of the most exciting tools in this year’s draft class. Standing at 6’4”, Griffin has the ability to play both SS and CF, where he can show off his elite arm strength. With 60-grade power and 65-grade speed, Griffin’s future is bright, but he likely won’t see MLB action for at least two more seasons.
Johnson’s ranking decreased slightly this year after a pretty average season in High-A and Double-A last year. His batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage were all lower in 2024 than in 2023. He will likely start the season in Double-A and could see a promotion to Triple-A by the end of the season if he looks more like the 2023 version of himself.
Cincinnati Reds
RHP Chase Burns (BP-No. 16, BA-No. 27, Pipeline-No. 26)
RHP Rhett Lowder (BP-No. 50, BA-No. 26, Pipeline-No. 35)
2B/3B Sal Stewart (BP-Not ranked, BA-Not ranked, Pipeline-No. 84)
3B Cam Collier (BP-Not ranked, BA-Not ranked, Pipeline-No. 91)
SS Edwin Arroyo (BP-Not ranked, BA-Not ranked, Pipeline-No. 92)
RHP Chase Petty (BP-Not ranked, BA-No. 98, Pipeline-Not ranked)
Burns and Lowder sit a tier above the rest of the Reds’ top prospects, but they are at very different stages of their development. Burns, drafted second overall in last year’s draft, has yet to pitch in a minor league game, but possesses exciting upside. While his fastball is hittable due to its lack of movement, it can reach 102 mph and sits in the upper 90s. However, Burns’ real strength is his 70-grade slider, which left college hitters guessing last season and led to him breaking Wake Forest’s single-season strikeout record, previously held by Rhett Lowder. Lowder was Cincinnati’s first-round pick in the 2023 draft and made his MLB debut in August. He pitched masterfully for the Reds at the end of the season, posting a 1.17 ERA across six starts, solidifying his position in Cincinnati’s rotation for the 2025 season.
The evaluators don’t agree on the rankings of the Reds’ next four top prospects, but out of Stewart, Collier, Arroyo, and Petty, Petty is the only one who has a chance to debut in 2025. With two plus pitches, a sinking fastball, and a mid-80s slider, Petty will likely become a reliever when he reaches the major leagues. That being said, he did make 28 starts last year and paired an improving changeup with his other two pitches to keep hitters off-balance. Stewart and Collier were Cincinnati’s first two picks in the 2022 draft. Both drafted as third basemen out of high school, they have progressed at similar rates through the Reds’ farm system, with each of them posting solid numbers in a full season of High-A baseball in 2024. Arroyo spent most of 2024 in High-A as well but earned a promotion to Double-A towards the end of the year. He will likely start the 2025 season in Double-A and could be promoted to Triple-A before the season ends, but with the Reds’ crowded infield don’t expect him to reach the big leagues for at least another season and a half.