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MLB Pipeline will reveal its list of the Top 100 Prospects for 2026 at 8 pm ET on Friday, Jan. 23, in a one-hour broadcast on MLB Network and MLB.com. Heading into the Top 100 release, we’ll examine the top 10 baseball prospects at each position.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “If he’s going to be the first player, he’s got to hit.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It’s a common refrain from interviews with scouts, coaches, managers and anyone connected to baseball. If you are going to play in a cold corner, you should bring logs. By 2025, first basemen had hit 709 homers, beating all other positional teams by at least 20. (There were 827 hitters.) They also led in OBP (.326), slugging percentage (.429), OPS (.754) and total bases (7,766).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Top 10 prospects by position:<\/strong> Most of that value that needs to come from the bat stems from the fact that first base is very low on the defensive spectrum totem pole. But last year proved once again that young first basemen can be valuable quickly if their bats translate. Athletics star Nick Kurtz, ranked third in last year’s Top 10 starters, was named the American League Rookie of the Year after slashing .290\/.383\/.619 with 36 homers in 117 games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Could there be future Rookie of the Year candidates in this year’s Top 10 first base class? Seven of the 10 have ETAs of 2026, and two (Sal Stewart, Bryce Eldridge) already have Major League experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Singer: Stewart (60)<\/strong> Power: Eldridge (70)<\/strong> Running: Morgan (50)<\/strong> Arm: Eldridge, Collier (60)<\/strong> Stadium: Morgan (70)<\/strong> Highest ceiling: Eldridge<\/strong> Top floor: Stewart<\/strong> Rookie of the Year Candidate: Stewart<\/strong> Upper riser: Long<\/strong> Lowest beginnings: Adams<\/strong> Much to prove: Condon<\/strong> Behold: Blake Burke<\/strong> MLB Pipeline will reveal its list of the Top 100 Prospects for 2026 at 8 pm ET on Friday, Jan. 23, in a one-hour broadcast on MLB Network and MLB.com. Heading into the Top 100 release, we’ll examine the top 10 baseball prospects at each position. “If he’s going to be the first player, he’s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2339"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2341,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2339\/revisions\/2341"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u2022 RHP | LHP | C| 1b| 2B (Jan. 19)
\u2022 3B (Jan. 20) | SS (Jan. 21) | KWA (Jan. 22) | Top 100 (Jan. 23)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Stewart hasn’t posted a strikeout rate higher than 17 percent in any of his full-season Minor League outings since being taken 32nd overall in 2022, though there was a slight bounce after his MLB debut last season. He hit the ball so hard in that first taste of The Show (52.5 percent average, 107.4 mph 90th-percentile exit velocity) that he could trade a few strikeouts for more Rockets in play and become a .300 average threat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The 6-foot-7 lefty hitter is as pure a slugger as you’ll find on any prospect’s list. He has tallied 48 homers over his last two Minor League seasons, and should continue as he enters his age-21 campaign. Eldridge had a 108.5 mph 90th-percentile EV at Triple-A in 2025, 10th-best among hitters with at least 150 at-bats — despite being 7 years younger than the average player — and his sample 95.7 mph EV in 4 Majors, was better than 5. Eldridge has 40-homer potential if he can make enough contact to get that epic pop every so often.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
This isn’t a fleet-a-foot position on the diamond, but Morgan at least gives opposing defenses something to think about. He stole 20 bags in his first full season in 2024 and added eight more in 92 games with Triple-A Durham last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
First basemen are also not called upon to use their arms often, but there are a few contenders here. Eldridge worked 92-96 mph with his fastball as an amateur, and Collier is expected to continue looking at third base because his arm strength can work at the hot corner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The former LSU star is arguably the best defensive starter of his generation. You might remember him best for his smitch bunt performance in the 2023 College World Series, and catch his soft hands, quick reactions and impressive craft during his first two full seasons in Tampa Bay’s system. He has a chance for multiple Gold Gloves here, if his bat can open up every day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Eldridge’s power gives him All-Star potential, and considering how quickly he approached the Majors before his 21st birthday, he still deserves plenty of time and space to make the most of that potential. His high strikeout rate on non-fastballs and high strikeout rates in 2025 set off enough alarms to knock him off the top of this list, but on pure talent alone, he still speaks volumes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
We’ve seen Stewart take to the Majors with a .255\/.293\/.545 line, five homers and a 124 wRC+ in 18 games with the Reds. Despite the high strikeout rate, he still hits the ball hard, and may only need more exposure to Major League pitching to find that way to develop to the level we’ve seen so much in the minors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The 22-year-old has seen time at second and third base during his career, but was first baseman during his time with Cincinnati last year because that is his clearest path to playing time. He can slot into either position or perform DH duties, if the Reds prefer Spencer Steer at the cold corner. Either way, Stewart should meet Cincy on Opening Day with a chance to produce above-average offensive numbers across 500+ plate appearances (assuming health). That will always move the ROY needle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Increased power to Double-A and the Arizona Fall League in 2024 certainly put Long on the national radar heading into last season, but he helped his standing take another jump by hitting .305\/.404\/.479 with 20 homers in 140 games for Triple-A Iowa. He excels with his swing decisions and raw power, and that has him knocking on Wrigley’s door entering his third full season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Adams looked to be headed to Michigan State until the Brewers called his name in the 12th round of the 2022 Draft. Milwaukee signed him for $282,500 (sixth-round money) to keep him away from the Spartans and watch him rise as an OBP and HBP machine to Double-A in his age-21 season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
It hasn’t been a dream start to the 2024 Golden Spikes Award winner’s career since hitting third base with the Rockies. Hand injuries hampered his production behind the frame, and he was held back by a broken wrist in his first spring training. His performances were solid in High-A, Double-A and the Arizona Fall League but lacked the electricity he showed at the plate in Georgia, where he slugged 37 homers and hit 1.009 as a junior. A fully healthy return to Minors will give us a clear window into where he stands in Colorado and the top position of hope.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
A member of Tennessee’s first championship team in 2024, Burke went to the Brewers with the 34th pick in 2024 for his raw power. That didn’t play into his first full season with just five homers in 95 games with High-A Wisconsin, but that changed after an early August promotion to Double-A Biloxi, where he went deep 11 times in just 37 games. Burke dropped his low ball rate by 10 points at the senior level, and improved delivery was a big factor in his power transformation. The left fielder will try to keep that momentum going in his age 23 campaign and should push to join Adams on this list whenever we need a replacement for the next Top 10 1B.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"