We’ve survived the Draft and the Trade Deadline and the Signing Deadline, so now we’re turning our full attention to revamping MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list and organization Top 30 rankings. We’ll unveil those in the early part of the week of Aug. 12.
My esteemed colleague Jonathan Mayo is 53 years old, doesn’t move like he used to and throws left-handed, so he has zero chance to play third base … Oh, you mean Coby Mayo, who will join the Orioles today for his big league debut.
Ranked No. 15 on our current Top 100, Mayo is one of the game’s best power prospects and his plus-plus arm strength is more than enough for the hot corner. He has worked diligently on his defense and moves well for a 6-foot-5, 230-pounder, but his range and agility are still somewhat limited.
Mayo can handle third base in Baltimore with Jordan Westburg currently out with a broken hand. But once Westburg returns and with Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday manning the middle infield, Mayo figures to shift to first base or perhaps right field, where he’s better suited to play. He should have no problem providing the offensive impact to profile at those less challenging positions.
Speaking of the Holliday family …
Jackson’s younger brother Ethan is the current favorite to go No. 1 overall in the 2025 Draft. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, he’s more physical than his older sibling and more closely resembles their father (seven-time All-Star Matt) at the same stage of their careers. Jackson, who’s No. 1 on our Top 100, tells everyone that Ethan is better than he was at age 17.
Ethan is comparable to Konnor Griffin and Bryce Rainer, the top prep prospects in the 2024 Draft and the Nos. 9 and 11 selections, and I’d take him over both. With my tendency to err on the side of ceiling, I’d put Holliday in the 40-50 range of the Top 100 right now.
I live in Chicago and would agree that fans here expected the White Sox to get more in return for Erick Fedde, Michael Kopech and Tommy Pham, whom they packaged together in a three-team trade. Fedde and Pham went to the Cardinals and Kopech to the Dodgers, with Chicago receiving Miguel Vargas, infield prospects Jeral Perez and Alexander Albertus, plus a player to be named or cash, all from Los Angeles.
The White Sox, who currently have the second-worst winning percentage (.243) in modern MLB history, perhaps could have received more quality and definitely would have received more quantity in the way of young talent had they split their three big leaguers into separate deals. But as I mentioned on this week’s Pipeline Podcast, this trade would look a lot better if the 24-year-old Vargas was considered a prospect.
Before he graduated off the Top 100 last year, Vargas rated as one of the best offensive prospects in baseball. A career .308/.396/.493 hitter in the Minors, he has elite bat-to-ball skills, solid power and arm strength and some surprising speed. Our Sam Dykstra rated Connor Norby as the best of the 90 prospects traded in July, and I’d take Vargas easily over Norby.
Perez and Albertus are both interesting 19-year-old offensive-minded infielders, albeit not future shortstops. White Sox fans may not be thrilled with the return from the Fedde/Kopech/Pham deal, but it’s better than they realize.
Rocker is extremely difficult to evaluate. Since he went 10th overall to the Mets in the 2021 Draft after starring at Vanderbilt, he has failed New York’s physical, had shoulder surgery that September, flashed high-end stuff in controlled outings in the independent Frontier League the following spring, shockingly went No. 3 to the Rangers in the 2022 Draft, didn’t look good in the Arizona Fall League afterward, rebounded to dominate High-A hitters to open the 2023 season, then blew out his elbow that May and had Tommy John surgery.
That’s a lot to unpack. Rocker returned to the mound in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League last month and gave up eight runs in seven innings while hitting 100 mph with his fastball. He made his Double-A debut a week ago, spinning three shutout innings with four strikeouts, topping out at 99 mph with his heater and getting four swings and misses on eight of his trademark mid-80s sliders.
Rocker has now worked 38 pro innings since leaving college three years ago, 72 if you want to count indy ball and the AFL. He still throws hard, still has his wipeout slider and also can show a plus curveball and an average changeup. He’s physical (6-foot-5, 245 pounds) and has a history of throwing strikes.
Rocker has yet to show he can stay healthy and have success in pro ball for an extended period of time. But he’s still the best pitching prospect in the Rangers system.
