When we update our Top 100 Prospects rankings, we try to make sure we are careful and judicious with how we move players on or off the list. But we also don’t want to leave a player on the rankings at the point when front offices no longer view the player as a top-tier prospect.
Take White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery, who dropped off the Top 100, as an example. He was going to drop off even before the White Sox decided to send him from Triple-A to the Arizona Complex League to try to rebuild his approach and confidence. In Montgomery’s case, he was one of the few prospects to move down significantly in our Opening Day Top 100 Prospects update back in April. That was, effectively, our last step before he slid off the list.
There are a number of players who took significant moves down the rankings this month. They aren’t necessarily headed off the list like Montgomery was, but we are getting feedback that raises concerns and has led to us pushing them down the list.
Below, we’ll take a look at seven such prospects who so far this year are facing troubling trends.
Ethan Salas, C, Padres
Salas remains one of the most difficult prospects to evaluate. He hit .267/.350/.487 in the California League with nine home runs in 48 games in 2023. Since then, he’s hit .206/.285/.304 in 506 plate appearances in High-A and .183/.315/.217 in 74 plate appearances in Double-A. He has just four home runs over those 139 games.
Salas is an excellent defender, and his struggles can largely be explained by the fact that he’s been a 17 and 18 years old going up against players in their 20s. But his inability to drive the ball over a relatively extended timeframe does raise plenty of concerns.
Chase DeLauter, OF, Guardians
This is going to sound a bit repetitive, as many of the players are on this list are so because of injury issues.
DeLauter slid down draft boards in 2022 because he suffered a foot injury that spring. He didn’t make his pro debut until midway through 2023, as he started the year on the 60-day IL because of further foot issues. He immediately hit when he did get on the field, but he missed more time with even more foot issues in 2024. He missed the first month of this season with a sports hernia, but he is back on the field now with a rehab assignment with the ACL Guardians.
DeLauter remains a very promising hitter, but he’s a 2022 draftee who has less than 100 games played. Durability remains a real concern.
Quinn Mathews, LHP, Cardinals
Mathews was one of the breakout pitching prospects of 2024. He didn’t look at all like that in his three Triple-A starts this season before he headed to the injured list with a shoulder injury.
While velocity was down a couple of ticks, it was his lost control that was more worrisome. In half of his 2024 starts, Mathews walked one or fewer batters. In his last two starts this year before he went on the IL, he walked 12 in 6.1 innings.
The hope is that Mathews will return to full health and regain his 2024 form, but the big setback is a worry.
Coby Mayo, 3B, Orioles
In his third game in Baltimore this year, Mayo committed a pair of throwing errors. By itself, that would be a blip, but Mayo has also struggled with his fielding in the minors this year.
Mayo committed errors in four straight games at third base in Triple-A Norfolk this year. He had five errors in 13 games at third for the Tides before his promotion. Mayo’s throwing accuracy has generally been his biggest issue, but he’s also struggled with fielding at times in 2025.
This has been a long-running issue. Mayo had a .912 career fielding percentage at third base in the minors. He has worked hard to try to improve, but the issues remain.
Mayo hasn’t hit in the majors yet, but his struggles defensively are a longer-running problem.
Walker Jenkins, OF, Twins
Jenkins draws raves reviews for his tools, and he was a popular candidate to be the 2025 Minor League Player of the Year. Two games into the season, however, he went on the injured list with an ankle injury. It remains a nagging problem, and it also creates a concerning sense of deja vu.
Last year, Jenkins missed time in spring training with a quad injury. He was healthy and played on Opening Day, but a hamstring injury sent him to the IL, and he didn’t get back on the field until late May.
This is two years in a row that Jenkins has missed significant time with leg/foot injuries. It could be just a case of bad luck, but he’s missed months of development time now.
He’s still one of the best prospects in baseball, but elite-level prospects who are playing more regularly have started to leap frog him a bit.
Jeferson Quero, C, Brewers
Quero missed all but one inning of the 2024 season because of a freak shoulder injury he suffered diving into first base on a pickoff throw.
Now 35 games into the 2025 season, Quero has yet to return to action. His shoulder is fine, but a hamstring injury has kept him on the IL all season.
Quero looked like one of the most well-rounded catching prospects in the game in 2023, but it’s now been 20 months since the last time Quero played a full official game.
Charlie Condon, OF, Rockies
Condon has been bit by bad injury luck like many on this list. He broke his wrist making a diving catch in spring training.
That by itself wouldn’t be enough to put him on this list, but that meant he missed a month, which came on the heels of hitting .180/.248/.270 in High-A in 2024. Those numbers should come with the caveat that he a hand injury that may have affected his hitting last year.
Condon could erase all these concerns with a big few months and a quick promotion to Double-A. But so far, he has one home run as a pro. The other big college bats from last year’s draft class are either already in the majors (Cam Smith and Nick Kurtz) or hitting 450+ foot bombs in Double-A (Jac Caglianone).
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
