Just missed the top 100? No problem! Rookie of the Year candidates, breakout prospects from Nos. 101 to 200

Now that we've released our 2026 ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball, it's time to turn our attention to the players who just missed the cut on this year's list.

Although the top 100 is exactly that long by definition, it's also a round-number cutoff that excludes many talented players with a chance to be true impact MLB stars.

With that in mind, we ranked the next 100 prospects and identified which players in this range are most likely to make a leap into the top 50 of next year's rankings, compete for 2026 MLB Rookie of the Year honors or lead the majors in a specific category someday.

Whether you are looking to be the first in the know about your favorite team's next emerging star, find some deep fantasy baseball sleepers or just want more prospect rankings, let's dig in.

Jump to: Full rankings of Nos. 101-200

The Nos. 101-200 prospect most likely to ...

Make the 2026 top 50

Lazaro Montes, RF, Seattle Mariners (Ranked No. 108)

He narrowly missed this year's top 100 and is just far enough from the big leagues that I don't think Montes will lose eligibility this year. That means we're likely to see another season of a bunch of home runs against upper-minors pitching while a lot of the players ahead of him will graduate from the list.

Although Montes' raw power, power production and age vs. level are all impressive, he's somewhat one-dimensional right now, with limited value from contact rate, speed or defense and most of his value coming from walks and homers. He's improving his defense, but even a 30-homer potential DH sitting in Triple-A at age 21 probably makes the top half of a top 100.

There are obviously a ton of candidates for this spot, so I'll take you on a quick tour of the buckets that I think the risers will come from, with a few examples from each.

The most recent international class was headlined by shortstops Luis Hernandez (Giants, 142) and Wandy Asigen (Mets, 191), who could follow in the footsteps of Jesus Made and Josuar Gonzalez before them. The first round of the most recent draft class has two notable boom-bust types in Xavier Neyens (Astros, 185) and Jace Laviolette (Guardians, 188), and Gavin Fien (Nationals, 117) and Dax Kilby (Yankees, 113) are two savvy hitters with some power and defensive value, with Josh Hammond (Royals, 132) as a sleeper. Of the position players who didn't sign recently, keep an eye on Devin Fitz-Gerald (Nationals, 133) and Juneiker Caceres (Guardians, 152).

From the pitching side, there were three pitchers who started the year in the Dominican Summer League who were in the mix for the top 100 -- Kendry Chourio (Royals, 124), Esteban Mejia (Orioles, 139) and Kevin DeFrank (137, Marlins) -- and I have a feeling one of these will take a huge step forward in 2026. Kruz Schoolcraft (Padres, 145) is the arrow-up prep arm from the 2025 draft, while three other picks to click are Dasan Hill (Twins, 161), Christian Oppor (White Sox, 118) and Anderson Brito (Rays, 174).

Last year I picked Franklin Arias for this spot and he jumped to No. 36 on this year's list, while Eduardo Quintero was also mentioned in the section and jumped to No. 37. I don't know if last year was an outlier year, but turns out Nolan McLean (13th on this year's top 100), Trey Yesavage (14th), Carson Benge (15th), Sal Stewart (17th), Carter Jensen (25th), Luis Pena (26th), Josuar Gonzalez (30th), Jonah Tong (31st), Ralphy Velazquez (33rd), Eduardo Tait (38th) and Josue Briceno (44th) all made the jump, while Cam Caminiti (53rd) just missed.

Obviously, there will be a number of players like this each year, but 13 of the top 50 prospects feels like more than I'll get this year. Maybe at this time next year I'll have more evidence as to whether I'm underranking a certain kind of player or if 13 is a normal outcome.

Be a 2026 Rookie of the Year candidate

Max Anderson, 2B/3B, Detroit Tigers (ranked No. 101)

This one is much more difficult because I need to project not only polish to perform in 2026, rather than at some point in the future, but also a spot opening up to give the player a chance -- and most of those types with strong cases are in the top 100.

The Tigers' infield situation with Gleyber Torres, Zach McKinstry and Colt Keith as starters isn't as strong as you'd like to see from a contender. Obviously, Kevin McGonigle lingers and Detroit's bench and Triple-A roster are full of guys who could be an answer, but Anderson might be the best option and ready to take a full-time spot before McGonigle shows up.

Obviously, the list of candidates here is almost anyone with a good bit of Triple-A experience. Among catchers and infielders, C Cooper Ingle (Guardians, 180), IF Tommy Troy (Diamondbacks, 102), SS Alex Freeland (Dodgers, 103), 2B Brice Matthews (Astros, 109) and SS Denzer Guzman (Angels, 112) are the candidates. From the outfielders, there's Ryan Clifford (Mets, 106), Gabriel Gonzalez (Twins, 130), Jhostynxon Garcia (Pirates, 140), Nelson Rada (Angels, 160), Gabriel Rincones Jr. (Phillies, 168) and Spencer Jones (Yankees, 177). I'm not as bold with pitchers because they need to be starters with over 100 innings to really have a chance, so I'd spotlight RHP Ryan Johnson (Angels, 149) and LHP Hunter Barco (Pirates, 181).

Lead MLB in home runs at his peak

Lazaro Montes, RF, Seattle Mariners (ranked No. 108)

Montes takes the title here as he was tied for third in the minor leagues in homers last year with 32 and is quite actualized at the plate in terms of making the most of his ability. Spencer Jones (Yankees, 177) was second in the minors with 35 homers but has extreme bat-to-ball issues. Ryan Clifford (Mets, 106) was sixth with 29 homers and is just behind Montes by a notch of raw power, and Esmerlyn Valdez (Pirates, 175) is just behind those with 26 (plus 8 in the Arizona Fall League). Those four are the easy answers due to their minor league production, as almost no one in the lower minors will put up over 20 homers, so projecting a homer crown from that group is more difficult.

In terms of the players with the raw tools and traits lower in the minors to join this group, we have Laviolette, Neyens and Hammond from the most recent draft, which is why they were mentioned above as potential huge risers if things click. The other three worthy of a mention are Xavier Isaac (Rays, 146), Alfonsin Rosario (Guardians, 183) and Brailer Guerrero (Rays, 184).

Win a batting title

William Bergolla, SS, Chicago White Sox (ranked No. 199)

This category is especially difficult because truly elite hitters will be in the top 100, so from this group, you need to look at players with limited pro experience, elite speed to help steal extra hits or a truly one-dimensional offensive threat.

Bergolla is the same age as collegiate players in the 2026 draft, and he had a 4.7% strikeout rate in Double-A last year. He's quite one-dimensional at the plate with bottom-of-the-scale raw power and solid-to-average speed, but he has incredible bat-to-ball ability that has been proven at a young age against top pitching. The fact that he has so little power and not a ton of raw speed (both are needed at some level to make this trick work in the big leagues) is why this is still quite speculative and he just barely made the top 200.

SS Kayson Cunningham (Diamondbacks, 136) and CF Cam Cannarella (Marlins, 200) are both from the most recent draft and more closely fit the formula I mention, with some raw power and plus speed along with real bat-to-ball ability. Center fielders Luis Lara (Brewers, 165) and Nelson Rada (Angels, 160) are higher up in the minors and also have these traits.

Lead the league in stolen bases

Nelson Rada, CF, Los Angeles Angels (ranked No. 160)

Rada swiped 54 bases last year at a solid 75% rate and he fits the archetype you'd think of for this title: a plus defender in center field with plus speed and above-average contact skills.

This wasn't an easy call, though, as there are a ton of viable options here, such as outfielders Nate George (Orioles, 114), Luis Lara (Brewers, 165) and Enrique Bradfield Jr. (Orioles, 135) along with infielders Brice Matthews (Astros, 109), Steele Hall (Reds, 126) and Tyson Lewis (Reds, 170). George led the minors by a lot with 100 stolen bases last year. A bunch of good candidates also just missed the 200 cutoff (Kendall George, Kyle DeBarge, Austin Overn, Dante Nori) or were in the top 100 to begin with (Justin Crawford, A.J. Ewing, Konnor Griffin, Eduardo Quintero).

Become a front-line starter

Kendry Chourio, RHP, Kansas City Royals (ranked No. 124)

This is the hardest and most important superlative here. Pitching prospects outside of the top 100 are acquirable by any team, and one of them turning into an ace is one of the most important team-building achievements a team can collect. Unfortunately, a lot of good options for this pick populated the last 15 spots of the top 100: Johnny King, Juan Valera, Bishop Letson, Charlee Soto, Noah Schultz, Caden Scarborough.

Chourio has the elements to become a front-line starter I'm looking for: enough velocity, plenty of command, the potential for three above-average pitch shapes and surface number performance. The reason he just missed the top 100 is because he isn't very projectable and needs to tweak his breaking ball shapes -- but the spin rates and break suggest he has the ability to do that. At the same stage of development, there are parallels to Seth Hernandez -- but Hernandez's size, velocity and the athleticism he has demonstrated as a position player are why he has more upside and therefore ranked a good bit higher.

The other options range from injury bounce-back candidates with big stuff such as River Ryan (Dodgers, 124) and Alejandro Rosario (Nationals, 190) to the other two big arms from the DSL in Kevin Defrank (Marlins, 137) and Esteban Mejia (Orioles, 139) to two young left-handers with big stuff and size in Kruz Schoolcraft (Padres, 145) and Dasan Hill (Twins, 161).

Throw 200 innings in a season

Jackson Ferris, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (ranked No. 128)

The qualities needed here are demonstrated health and durability along with enough stuff to be in a rotation and enough command to stay there, with the best candidates already in the upper minors. Ferris fits this well, as he has thrown 126⅔ innings in 2024 and 126 innings in 2025 and has fourth starter-type stuff with starter command. He'll probably need to take one more step forward in stuff or command to actually hit 200 innings in the big leagues, but the ceiling is there.

Boston Bateman (Orioles, 195), Kohl Drake (Diamondbacks, 162), Hagen Smith (White Sox, 127) and Kruz Schoolcraft (Padres, 145) join Ferris in the "big left-handed starters" bucket with Santiago Suarez (Rays, 154) as the right-hander with the potential to reach 200.

Become an elite closer

Brandon Clarke, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals (ranked No. 193)

Clarke was traded by the Red Sox to the Cardinals this winter in the Sonny Gray deal. A 6-foot-4 lefty with some command and injury issues in his past, Clarke has a unique combination of huge extension, a lower arm slot, two differently shaped sinkers up to 100 mph and a sweeper and changeup that complement them well.

This superlative is fun because it's shorthand for the best stuff in the minors -- many of the pitching prospects with the best raw stuff don't make the top 100 as they're often pure relievers who have to be ranked behind the more likely starters. It wouldn't shock me if half of these players start some games in the big leagues, but I think their most likely outcomes are in shorter stints. The other candidates are righties Carlos Lagrange (Yankees, 159), Esteban Mejia (Orioles, 139), George Klassen (Angels, 147) and Gage Wood (Phillies, 169), along with lefty Adam Serwinowski (Dodgers, 196).

Complete rankings for prospects Nos. 101-200