Rules:
This is fantasy value over real-life value
Hitters are weighted a bit heavier than pitchers, given the added injury risk
Proximity matters, but this is a dynasty-length view
All notes current as of Sunday, August 16, 2026.
101. C Leo Bernal (Cardinals) - AAA
Previous Rank: Top 200 ETA: Early 2027 Comp: A switch-hitting William Contreras
Prime Skills: Bernal is a switch-hitting catcher out of Panama who’s knocking on the major league door right now and would likely be up on any other major league team outside of Missouri, but the Cardinals are loaded at catcher. He’s a Minor League Gold Glove winner behind the plate, real defensive polish to go with the switch-hit bat, and the specific thing that separates him from other close-to-the-majors catching prospects is a strikeout rate that runs meaningfully lower than a big league comparable like Jimmy Crooks managed in his own recent Triple-A-to-majors transition, a real signal the bat-to-ball skill should translate more smoothly than most call-ups his profile. He signed as an international free agent back in January 2021 and has climbed every rung of the Cardinals system methodically since, a five-year developmental arc that’s about as textbook as a catching prospect’s path gets. Bernal has no red flags in his profile at all and looks to be a solid all-around hitter with top of the line defensive prowess with 37 extra base hits in 95 games including an above average angles profile.
Hitter Tool Grades:
• Hit: 45/55
• Plate Approach: 50/60
• Power: 50/60
• Speed: 40/35
Ranking Explanation: The Cardinals already have Ivan Herrera, Jimmy Crooks and Pedro Pages on the active roster, a crowded catching picture that’s the real reason Bernal hasn’t gotten the call yet rather than anything about his own readiness. Bernal is the most likely of all these players to stick as the primary catcher as the best defensive player of the bunch behind the plate. Look for the Cardinals to make an off-season move to clear room for Bernal at the position longer term.
102. SP Wei-en Lin (Athletics) - AAA
Previous Rank: 44 ETA: 2028 Comp: A Jesus Luzardo and Shota Imanaga mash
Prime Skills: Lin hit my radar really early in 2025, his first pro season where he posted a 2.08 JA ERA that got him to Double-A as a 19-year-old, a rare feat for an international arm from the Far East to move this fast. The fastball carries 18 inches of induced vertical break with plus ride, and it darts in against a fairly nasty 87-89 mph sweeper, a slower, loopier two-plane knuckle-curve, and a solid changeup, four distinct shapes for a pitcher this age. He’s a slight build at 6-2, only about 180 pounds, but command is what separates him, just a 5.5% walk rate, precision locating rather than simply avoiding the zone. His fStuff model graded near 120 last year and has come down some in 2026, though that’s mostly a competition effect as he’s faced older, more advanced Double-A hitters and even made it to AAA prior to needing Tommy John surgery mid-way through the season, his swinging-strike rate has dipped from 16.1% to 12.9% specifically against the tougher level rather than any decline in his own stuff; keeping in mind the AAA ball is different than the ball at the lower levels.
Arsenal Grades:
• FA (92-95 mph): 60/65
• SL/ST (86-89 mph): 55/65
• CH (mid-80s): 50/60
• KC (77-78 mph): 45/55
• Command: 55/65
Ranking Explanation: We don’t have the pitch-level Trackman data I’d like on Lin specifically, but he was thoroughly outclassing Double-A as a 20-year-old before a quad injury slowed him down and then subsequently needed Tommy John. The Athletics have had a rough time developing pitchers organizationally, a specific, tangible risk worth flagging rather than ignoring, but the underlying stuff and command combination here is good enough to overcome shakier player development if it holds. He may not return to game action until 2028.
103. SP Miguel Sime Jr. (Nationals) - A+
Previous Rank: 110 ETA: 2028 Comp: A Jacob Misiorowski arsenal coming out of a righty CC Sabathia delivery
Prime Skills: I still can’t believe Sime lasted until the fourth round last year. My first live look at him in the Spring Breakout game was enough to get me on board immediately. He’s built like a brick house at 6-4, 235, and the fastball is absurd, up to 102 mph, and he blew it past both Tai Peete and JJ Wetherholt in that same exhibition. The curveball is a clean traditional 11-to-5 shape, and the slider is a sweeping gyro pitch that plays more like a high-velocity vertical sweeper than a conventional breaking ball, a strange, hard-to-categorize shape, which is exactly why it’s so tough to square up. Body-type-wise he almost reminds me of Alfredo Duno, but as a pitcher instead of a catcher, that same physically imposing, hard-to-miss presence on the mound.
Arsenal Grades:
• FA (98-102 mph): 70/70
• FC (84-88 mph): 65/70
• CU (80-84 mph): 45/55
• FS (85-88 mph): 30/40
• Command: 30/40
Ranking Explanation: Sime’s command is inconsistent from start to start, but a near 42% strikeout rate is absurd enough that the ceiling stays sky high regardless. He needs to develop something with more horizontal movement between the changeup and a true fourth pitch and find steadier command, or this profile settles as a high-leverage reliever rather than a full-time starter, the raw stuff alone would play in either role.
104. SS Steele Hall (Reds) - A
Previous Rank: 91 ETA: 2028 Comp: Trea Turner Light
Prime Skills: Hall is a speed-first prep athlete who dominated at Complex league, but has struggled at low A with near unplayable exit velocities and poor contact rates. Hall has blazing speed, which makes him worth rostering as long as he can start hitting the ball with authority at full-season ball. He’s lean, but he should get to more power as he matures, as he tends to get out in front of the ball with a quick break out of the box that speaks to advanced bat speed for his age. He’s nailed a 110.9 mph max exit velocity down in complex ball this year, solid evidence there’s more juice in the bat than expected for a pure speed-tools prospect against his horrid low A EVs and barrel ability thus far. Contact is sub par, even in complex ball, though the angles are leaning plus, he’s pulling the ball in the air with a near-25% line-drive rate. Hall has shown the ability to take a walk even though the swinging-strike rate is a specific flag worth tracking as he climbs and I hope to get eyes on him before the end of the minor league season. Hall has 35 extra base hits in 77 games, but only 5 have come at full-season ball in 19 games.
Hitter Tool Grades:
• Hit: 25/45
• Plate Approach: 30/50
• Power: 30/45
• Speed: 70/80
Ranking Explanation: Hall is intriguing thanks to the speed profile, the pedigree, and some scouting friends whose opinion on him I trust a great deal. We only have a small sample size of data and I haven’t seen him in person yet, both honest limitations on how confidently I can rank him right now, but I’m looking forward to an in-person look and once we get another month of sample size data where the picture should sharpen fast.
105. SP Quinn Mathews (Cardinals) - MLB
Previous Rank: Top 200 ETA: Debuted Comp: Cole Ragans light
Prime Skills: Mathews is a big lefty with some ridiculous breakers that play way better when he can spin his fastball with mid-90s velo and above average rise to it and the slider is a swing and miss machine paired with that fastball. His command has gone from elite to lost since 2024. Mathews fell out of my Top 100 and my Top 150 this last update after not making any command gains y/o/y from 2025 after a phenomenal 2024. He has improved over the last three starts though with 23 strikeouts and only 5 walks and much better command of the fastball, change up and the sinker. He still has #2 or #3 starter upside thanks to the elite slider and elite change up, but he needs to throw for strikes in order to get there.
Arsenal Grades:
• FA (93-96 mph): 50/50
• SL (84-86 mph): 65/70
• CH (81-83 mph): 50/60
• CU (75-77 mph): 35/40
• SI (93-95 mph): 45/45
• Command: 40/55
Ranking Explanation: Mathews projects as a mid-rotation arm who should provide a steady floor even in his rockier outings, the slider alone is a swing-and-miss weapon he can lean on when everything else is off. I’m including him here for completeness given he was squarely in this range entering the year, but this is closer to a graduation notice than an active prospect ranking at this point.