Our analysis of the top 30 begins at the bottom if you've read through my lists before, mostly because of shuffling above this section a lot of guys here holding serve, and some guys outside the top 30 not really doing enough to jump up. Anyways, this section was SUPPOSED to be 20-30, but I forgot someone higher up the list in between making my last post and this one, so it's 21-30 plus our new 1st man out. Either way, here's that contingent:
21. Alex McFarlane
22. Andrew Walling
23. José Rodríguez
24. Raylin Heredia
25. Alex Binelas
26. Charles King
27. Alan Rangel
28. Cody Bowker
29. Tristan Garnett
30. Daniel Harper
31. Griff Burkholder
This group is largely composed of mid-ceiling guys, plus a few names that are farther away from the Majors that need to prove more to advance on this list, and more than a few injuries. Griff Burkholder falls out of the top 30 after barely hanging on in my 1st edition of this list due to a miserable season where he failed to generate much momentum at all, much unlike fellow 2024 draftee Dante Nori. Daniel Harper's a good stuff guy, but is also coming off an unimpressive season, and has fallen off by the evaluation of even the analysts most bullish of him. It's put up or shut up time for him. Similar goes for Tristan Garnett, a guy whose stuff is less impressive, but his numbers are moreso. 2025 3rd rounder Cody Bowker is loved by evaluators, but is a pretty extreme project as a recent convertee to the mound. He'll get more grace on this list, but I still want to see more results at this point. Alan Rangel's here mostly off of some old evaluations about his projection in the pen, and his proximity to the Majors. Doubt he's a MLB arm in the rotation, but he could be a useful long reliever at the next level. Charles King's spot is mostly unchanged from where it was at last check, more or less because his results in the rotation at Reading don't really matter to me because I see him as a strict RP if he makes it. Nevertheless, he'll keep plugging away in that role for now. Alex Binelas falls a bit from my 2025 mid-season list because, well, you can only do so much continuing to be a good-but-not-great Eastern Leaguer. Ditto goes for José Rodríguez who, at least, is younger and has missed time the past few years. Andrew Walling is another reliever in that Daniel Harper mold with success up through AA with moderate stuff that is gonna need to do it in AAA this year to stay ranked. Truthfully, this ranking feels a TAD gratuitous. Closing us out here is Alex McFarlane who, truthfully, is very hard to rank. He's a guy I faded for a while, but the success later last year in the pen delivered on the claims I've seen from evaluators saying his future may be as a reliever. Still, his floor feels low, even for a guy with AA success. A hot start in 2026 could help boost his rankings firmly into the next tier.
No comments:
Post a Comment