The start of a new year can mean only one thing around these parts: it’s time to analyze and rank an unhealthy amount of minor-league prospects. Such is the tradition here at CBS Sports, but while we’re upholding that tradition, be aware that we’re making some changes to our approach by ranking the top 20 prospects per division, however that breaks down by team. Our belief is that those tweaks will make the coverage better by making it easier for fans to compare how their future players stack up against their top rivals.
These rankings are formed through firsthand observational and statistical analysis; conversations with scouts, analysts, and player development specialists; and an understanding of historical trends. Add in some biases toward and against certain player types and, on occasion, a tiebreaking coin flip, and you have a general idea about how we put these lists together.
Below, you’ll find the American League East list. This is the most evenly distributed division in the AL, with every team featuring at least three prospects in the top 20. The Orioles lead the way with six entrees, including a few players — like slugger Samuel Basallo, right-hander Trey Gibson, and outfielder Dylan Beavers — who ought to contribute this year to Baltimore’s playoff pursuit.
On the subject of contributing this year, the Red Sox seem particularly well positioned. Two of their four entries have already pitched in the majors (lefties Payon Tolle and Connelly Early), and it’s not out of the question that the other two players on this list (shortstop Franklin Arias and right-hander Kyson Witherspoon) debut before the season is out. Stay tuned.
Now, let’s break down the top 20 prospects in the AL East.
1. Samuel Basallo, C/1B, Orioles
- The quick hook: Lefty thumper with positional questions
- MLB ETA: Already debuted
Basallo is, among other descriptions, the richest man on this list. He signed an eight-year extension worth $67 million after debuting last August, a transaction that hints at how the Orioles feel about his offensive upside. The lefty-swinging Basallo posted a combined hard-hit rate against right-handed pitchers of nearly 58%, right around the overall marks put up by Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and Kyle Schwarber. His feel for loud contact should play nicely in Camden Yards, one of the sport’s top ballparks for left-handed power. Defensively, it’s to be seen how the Orioles handle Basallo’s positional assignments around a healthy Adley Rutschman. He remains a subpar receiver behind the plate, one who too often stabs at balls in the dirt. Basallo does have a strong arm, though, and the Orioles have resisted the temptation to move him down the defensive spectrum for this long. What’s a little longer?
2. Trey Yesavage, RHP, Blue Jays
- The quick hook: Playoff-tested pitcher with an unusual game
- MLB ETA: Already debuted
Yesavage is an oddball prospect in more ways than one. There’s the obvious angle: he’s the rare bird whose big-league track is mostly contained to the postseason. There’s also the way he goes about his business. His extremely steep release point means that his arsenal differs from the norm: he throws a four-seamer, a slider that averages arm-side break, and a splitter. They all grade well individually, suggesting he’ll be able to withstand the exposure effect that has doomed countless pitchers with unusual release attributes. The actual drawbacks to his game are his durability — he’s yet to clear 100 innings during any regular season — and that he’s been a touch wild as a professional. Still, the Blue Jays have every reason to be thrilled that they landed him with the 20th pick in the 2024 Draft.
3. George Lombard Jr., SS, Yankees
- The quick hook: Dynamic shortstop nearing arrival
- MLB ETA: Summer 2026
Lombard has bloodlines working in his favor — his father is the Tigers bench coach and his younger brother could be a top pick in the upcoming draft — but don’t mistake him for a nepo baby. He’s a compelling prospect who could provide value across the board. Offensively, he has patience and budding power, the combination of which should cover for an elevated strikeout rate. Though he’s prone to some scattershot throws in the field, there’s no denying his range or his ability to convert on difficult plays that, in a different time, would’ve made him a Web Gems regular. Lombard is also an above-average runner who successfully stole 35 bases on 43 attempts in 2025. He’ll turn 21 in June. It’s possible that Lombard will have already made his big-league debut by then.
4. Payton Tolle, LHP, Red Sox
- The quick hook: Big fastball from a big lefty
- MLB ETA: Already debuted
Tolle is a physical southpaw who really gets down the mound. In the process, he generates roughly 7.5 feet of extension from the rubber to his release point, creating a flatter angle on his pitches and allowing them to play around two ticks hotter than they clock in on the radar gun. Those effects help explain why Tolle’s mid-90s fastball, a pitch he threw nearly 60% of the time, has served as a highly effective weapon at generating whiffs and combating hard contact. The rest of his arsenal isn’t as obviously impressive, but his slider and curveball both graded as above-average offerings per some of the public-facing pitch-quality measures. Ultimately, Tolle is going to go as far as his heater takes him.
5. Franklin Arias, SS, Red Sox
- The quick hook: Surefire shortstop with great feel for contact
- MLB ETA: Summer 2027
Arias has two major pluses working in his favor. Foremost, he’s a talented defensive shortstop who’ll have no trouble remaining at the six for the long haul. He’s also highly adept at putting the bat on the ball. Last season, he connected on nearly 90% of his swings and maintained a strikeout rate close to 10%. Arias, 20 as of November, does hit a lot of ground balls at present. With some additional time, however, it’s possible that he adds strength and the ability to better manipulate his barrel to keep pitchers honest. Should that prove to be the case, he should settle in as a regular.
6. Carson Williams, SS, Rays
- The quick hook: Defense, power, and major contact woes
- MLB ETA: Already debuted
Williams is a talented shortstop defender who is blessed with plus power at the plate, a combination that gives him a real chance at earning MVP votes during his best years. There’s just one catch: he lacks any semblance of bat-to-ball skills. He has a rigid swing that saw him connect on about 73% of his combined in-zone attempts in 2025, a figure that would’ve placed him near the bottom of the majors if he had qualified. Williams is going to strike out a lot and he’s going to stumble through his share of prolonged slumps. There’s still enough working in his favor to envision him enjoying a fruitful, if at times maddening, career. Consider Gabriel Arias a decent proxy: he’s a lesser player in some ways, yet he just started at short 106 times for a playoff team. There are worse fates.
7. Elmer Rodríguez, RHP, Yankees
- The quick hook: Sideslinging righty nearing MLB debut
- MLB ETA: Summer 2026
Rodriguez, acquired in the November 2024 trade that sent catcher Carlos Narvaez to the Red Sox, has a lanky frame and releases the ball from a low arm slot. Predictably, his arsenal is heavy on horizontal movement. He throws a mid-90s sinker, a changeup that operates like a kick-change at times, and three breaking balls. Rodriguez’s arm can be a little late getting up, such is the nature of his operation, and he’ll probably never have tremendous command as a result. His ability to miss bats and generate ground balls should enable him a future in the middle of a rotation all the same.
8. Connelly Early, LHP, Red Sox
- The quick hook: A most modern pitcher
- MLB ETA: Already debuted
Early, Boston’s fifth-round pick in a fruitful 2023 class, made an impression in his four introductory starts at the big-league level, even earning the nod during the Red Sox’s Wild Card Series loss to the Yankees. Early fits the league’s current preferences, throwing a bevy of pitches from a lower arm slot. His arsenal includes three breaking balls and a changeup with sink, meaning that he has options across the four quadrants of the movement spectrum. Early has flirted with a 10% walk rate more than you might expect from someone with average velocity, but, provided he can throw enough strikes, he has a real chance at continuing to outperform relative to his past prospect status.
9. Carlos Lagrange, RHP, Yankees
- The quick hook: Big frame, big velocity, big control issues
- MLB ETA: Late summer 2027
Lagrange is a power pitching prospect straight from central casting. He’s listed at 6-foot-7, he regularly sits in the upper-90s with his four-seam fastball, and he has some promising secondary offerings to keep batters honest. The main knock against him is his control, as he’s handed out more than five free passes per nine innings for his career. Lagrange’s delivery looks like one that belongs in the bullpen, specifically because of how much recoil he experiences as part of his followthrough. The Yankees have every reason to keep starting him until they can’t justify it anymore. Stay tuned.
10. Trey Gibson, RHP, Orioles
- The quick hook: Physical mid-rotation prospect
- MLB ETA: Spring 2026
Pitching is all about deception and angles. Gibson, a former undrafted free agent, benefits from that dynamic through his varied arsenal and an unusual release point. He threw six pitches at least 10% of the time last season, including two low-to-mid-90s fastballs; two breaking balls; and a “deathball” cutter that might be his single best offering. Gibson also generates nearly seven feet of extension with a six-foot release height, a combination that puts him in company with the likes of Hunter Brown, Gavin Williams, and Tanner Bibee. He should slot into Baltimore’s rotation this spring, cementing himself as a scouting and developmental win along the way.
11. Arjun Nimmala, SS, Blue Jays
- The quick hook: Young shortstop with power, patience
- MLB ETA: Late summer 2028
Nimmala’s season doesn’t appear impressive at a glance, but it’s worth keeping in mind he only turned 20 in October. In other words, he spent the campaign as a teenager competing against players who were three years his senior on average. Despite that disparity, he sliced into his strikeout rate (reducing it from 30.7% to 21.4%) and did so without impacting his walk rate. Nimmala ought to continue adding muscle as he matures. He should stick at the shortstop position, too. That combination, plus his youth, makes him one of the most enticing players in the Blue Jays system.
12. Brody Hopkins, RHP, Rays
- The quick hook: Funky righty with impressive arsenal
- MLB ETA: Late summer 2026
The book on Hopkins, part of the return in the Randy Arozarena trade, continues to be the same. He has a fantastic arsenal, headlined by a rising mid-90s heater and a pair of quality breaking balls, but he may not reach his ceiling because of spotty command. Hopkins walked more than 12% of the Double-A batters he faced last season, a rate that would’ve been the highest among big-league qualifiers. Gavin Williams, Dylan Cease, and others have demonstrated it’s possible to succeed while handing out free passes at unnerving rates. Hopkins certainly has the stuff to join their ranks.
13. JoJo Parker, SS, Blue Jays
- The quick hook: Lefty infielder with a promising bat
- MLB ETA: Late summer 2028
Parker, the eighth pick in last summer’s draft, was one of the biggest risers in the class. Scouts project him to develop a plus hit tool from the left side, a fancy way of saying he has strong bat-to-ball skills. Parker could develop average or better power too, a combination that would make him a valuable offensive player. Defensively, he should remain somewhere on the infield and there’s a non-zero chance he sticks at shortstop. Parker turned 19 shortly after draft day, making him a little older than the typical prepster.
14. Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Red Sox
- The quick hook: Quality stuff and improved control
- MLB ETA: Spring 2027
Witherspoon has an uptempo delivery that sees him pitch off a high front side and really hinge on his back leg before he looses the ball from a high-three-quarters slot. Despite the frantic aesthetics, he was able to rein in his control at Oklahoma, with his strikeout-minus-walk percentage improving from 13.4% to 25.9% year to year. Witherspoon certainly has the stuff to start at the big-league level — his arsenal includes a heater that sits in the mid-to-upper 90s, a cutter, and two breaking balls — so his future will hinge on his ability to maintain those control gains as a professional.
15. Dylan Beavers, OF, Orioles
- The quick hook: Pull-happy corner outfielder with extreme approach
- MLB ETA: Already debuted
Beavers had a successful introduction to the majors last season despite a somewhat unusual profile. He isn’t particularly eager at the plate, employing a borderline passive approach that saw him walk or strike out in 45.3% of his big-league plate appearances. When he did put the ball in play, he often pulled it in the air. If he had qualified, he would’ve been the only player in the majors with an average launch angle above 20 degrees and a hard-hit percentage below 30% — everyone else with a launch angle that high cleared 40%. That combination worked for him in a small sample, but how about in the future? The most similar players (think Kyle Manzardo, Miguel Vargas, and Mike Yastrzemski) are roughly league-average hitters, suggesting Beavers has a chance to make things work. It helps that he’ll play his home games in a favorable setting like Camden.
16. Nate George, CF, Orioles
- The quick hook: Tooled-up outfielder coming off a breakout debut
- MLB ETA: Summer 2029
George, a 16th-round selection in 2024, is a highly athletic outfielder with a rising stock. He fared much better at the plate than expected, hitting .337/.413/.483 across parts of three levels. That included a 21-game stint in High-A that saw him face significantly older competition on average, given that he won’t celebrate his 20th birthday until June. George runs well and should mature into an asset both in the outfield and on the bases, where he successfully stole 50 bags last season (albeit on 75 attempts). All signs point to him being a drafting and development win for the Orioles.
17. Dax Kilby, SS, Yankees
- The quick hook: Tooled-up shortstop coming off a strong introduction to pro ball
- MLB ETA: Summer 2029
The Yankees used their top selection in last summer’s draft (No. 39) on Kilby, an athletic prep shortstop from Georgia. After signing for nearly $3 million, he then put on a show in an 18-game introduction to pro ball by hitting .353/.457/.441 with four extra-base hits, 16 stolen bases (on 17 attempts), and more walks than strikeouts against Florida State League competition nearly three years his senior. Kilby is a fantastic athlete who marries a good feel for contact with a firm grasp of the strike zone. The main knocks against him were his below-average arm and his power output.
18. Luis De León, LHP, Orioles
- The quick hook: Quirky lefty with premium stuff, questionable command
- MLB ETA: Late summer 2027
De León and Esteban Mejia, two of the most intriguing young arms in the Orioles system, both arrived as international amateur free-agent signings from the Dominican Republic. De León is older and, unsurprisingly, more developed as a pitcher, so he gets the nod here. He’s a short-striding lefty who relies on an unusual four-pitch mix. In addition to a mid-90s sinker, he throws a distinct changeup and splitter, as well as a slider. It’s a high-premium arsenal, but he has subpar control (he walked 12 batters in 16 Arizona Fall League innings) that may limit him to relief work.
19. Theo Gillen, OF, Rays
- The quick hook: Pure hitter with projection and new position
- MLB ETA: Summer 2028
Gillen was considered one of the best pure hitters in the 2024 Draft thanks to his feel for spraying line drives. He’s since hit .267/.433/.387 in a full season in the Carolina League, all the while doing it against competition that was more than a year his senior. Gillen will need to fill out his 6-foot-2 frame to add wallop to his game, and he could stand to be more aggressive. (Walking roughly 20% of the time in the majors is great, but doing so in the minors suggests he might be too passive.) The biggest question facing him as an amateur was his long-term positional home, as a shoulder injury had wrecked his arm strength and left him as a low-probability shortstop. The Rays have punted on the infield entirely, instead moving Gillen to center, where his above-average speed should empower him to become a quality defender. He’s one to watch.
20. Ike Irish, OF/1B/C, Orioles
- The quick hook: Above-average bat who may not catch
- MLB ETA: Late summer 2027
Irish was the first of four players drafted by the Orioles last summer within the top 40 picks. It speaks to his offensive potency that he went so high despite an iffy outlook behind the plate. Injury limited Irish to just 12 catching appearances during the collegiate portion of his year, and Baltimore evenly rotated him through four slots as a pro, including first base and DH. At the plate, he’s a lefty swinger who could contribute average, on-base, and slugging thanks to his above-average juice and plate discipline and his all-fields approach.
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