MLB 26-and-under power rankings, Nos. 25-21: Zach Neto, Trey Yesavage, Junior Caminero lead their teams' young cores

Yahoo Sports’ 26-and-under power rankings are a remix on the traditional farm system rankings that assess the strength of MLB organizations’ talent base among rookie-eligible and MiLB players. By evaluating all players in an organization entering their age-26 seasons or younger, this project aims to paint a more complete picture of each team’s young core. Our rankings value productive young major leaguers more heavily than prospects who have yet to prove it at the highest level, and most prospects included in teams’ evaluations have already reached the upper levels of the minors.

To compile these rankings, each MLB organization was given a score in four categories:

Young MLB hitters: scored 0-10; 26-and-under position players and rookie-eligible hitters projected to be on Opening Day rosters
Young MLB pitchers: scored 0-10; 26-and-under pitchers and rookie-eligible pitchers projected to be on Opening Day rosters
Prospect hitters: scored 0-5; prospect-eligible position players projected to reach MLB in the next 1-2 years
Prospect pitchers: scored 0-5; prospect-eligible pitchers projected to reach MLB in the next 1-2 years

We’re counting down all 30 organizations’ 26-and-under talent bases from weakest to strongest, diving into five teams at a time. In addition to the scores for each team in each category, we’ll highlight the key players who fall into each bucket and contributed most to their organization’s place in the rankings. Below, we dig into Nos. 25-21.

25. Los Angeles Angels (total score: 12/30) | 2025 rank: 23

Young MLB hitters (5/10): SS Zach Neto, 1B Nolan Schanuel, C Logan O’Hoppe, INF Vaughn Grissom, OF Wade Meckler, INF Christian Moore, INF Oswald Peraza, INF Matthew Lugo, INF/OF Kyren Paris
Young MLB pitchers (3/10): LHP Reid Detmers, RHP Grayson Rodriguez, RHP José Fermin, RHP Chase Silseth, RHP Ben Joyce, RHP Jack Kochanowicz, RHP Caden Dana
Prospect hitters (1/5): OF Nelson Rada, SS Denzer Guzman, INF David Mershon
Prospect pitchers (3/5): RHP Tyler Bremner, LHP Sam Aldegheri, RHP George Klassen, RHP Ryan Johnson, RHP Chris Cortez, RHP Chase Shores, RHP Walbert Urena

With the Colorado Rockies clearing house over the winter, Anaheim is now squarely the most outdated and archaic organization in the sport. This undesirable status falls on the shoulders of owner Artie Moreno, whose complete misunderstanding of modern baseball has led to the decaying of his franchise from the inside out. Dramatic underfunding in research and development, scouting and player development have left the Angels relatively devoid of talent and with the bleakest future in MLB.

None of that, however, is Zach Neto’s fault. Like many Angels prospects, the 25-year-old shortstop raced to the bigs less than a year after being drafted. And though Neto struggled in his 2023 debut season, he has been downright fabulous the past two years. His 10.2 bWAR since Opening Day 2024 is 17th in baseball over that span and sixth among players eligible for these rankings (after Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Julio Rodriguez, Geraldo Perdomo and Brice Turang). There’s still ample room for improvement — Neto’s defense is lackluster, his strikeout rate is too high, his walk rate is too low — but this is a real cornerstone talent and one the Angels, given their track record, will surely fail to build around.

While Anaheim actually has a large group of young hitters, few of them project as impact types. Nolan Schanuel is a solid big leaguer but probably won’t develop enough power to become an All-Star. Logan O’Hoppe is coming off a brutally disappointing 2025 that saw declines in both his offensive and defensive outputs. If he can rebound to be a decent second-division starter, that would be a win. And while we loved Christian Moore’s physicality coming out of the draft, his swing has real issues that might preclude him from hitting for average in the bigs.

Things aren’t much rosier on the pitching front. Grayson Rodriguez, whom Anaheim acquired straight-up for Taylor Ward, was a savvy addition this past winter. The former top prospect struggled through injuries in Baltimore and never got settled as a big-league starter. Can a clear runway with the Angels get him purring again? We’ll see. Reid Detmers has had quite a tumultuous tenure in Anaheim, but the lefty found some stability last season once relegated to the bullpen full-time. Can he continue that success as the Angels push him back into the rotation? We’ll see. The rest of these names look like either back-end depth pieces or relief options.

Thankfully, both Tyler Bremner and George Klassen appear primed to contribute in the near future. Bremner, the second pick in last year’s draft, boasts a plus-plus changeup that should allow him to move through the minors quickly. He’s a consensus top-100 prospect. Klassen is closer to the show (he finished 2024 in Triple-A) and has massive stuff (high-90s heat), but questions remain about his command and pitchability. At worst, he’ll be an impact reliever.

Offensively, the Angels don’t have much to write home about in the upper minors. Nelson Rada can really, really play center field, but he has the power of a geographically isolated Amish community. Shortstop Denzer Guzman can also pick it but hasn’t ever hit for impact. And because the Angels rush their top position-player picks to the majors so quickly (Neto, Schanuel, Moore), this system is devoid of the high-end talent you’d see in most.

As harsh as it sounds, it’s incredibly difficult to envision a path to contention for the Angels in the relatively near future. These are dire straits. — J.M.

24. Toronto Blue Jays (total score: 12/30) | 2025 rank: 25

Young MLB hitters (3/10): 3B/OF Addison Barger, OF Jonatan Clase
Young MLB pitchers (5/10): RHP Trey Yesavage, RHP Braydon Fisher, LHP Mason Fluharty, RHP Spencer Miles
Prospect hitters (2/5): OF Yohendrick Pinango, OF RJ Schreck, SS Josh Kasevich, OF Victor Arias, INF Charles McAdoo, 3B Sean Keys
Prospect pitchers (2/5): LHP Ricky Tiedemann, RHP Jake Bloss, RHP Gage Stanifer, LHP Johnny King, RHP Angel Bastardo

Toronto’s place in our rankings barely changed since last year, but what an eventful year it was. Consider two of the main characters involved in Toronto’s remarkable run to an AL pennant and nearly a championship: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Trey Yesavage. Guerrero was one of several key position players, including Alejandro Kirk, Andres Gimenez and Davis Schneider, who played their age-26 seasons in 2025, which gave Toronto a strong young MLB hitting grade a year ago. On the mound, however, there were zero 26-and-under pitchers on the major-league roster to open last season, earning Toronto a nil in that category, which severely hampered its overall spot in the rankings.

Entering 2026, Toronto’s young hitting grade has dropped considerably with the graduations of Guerrero, Kirk, Gimenez and Schneider. But the unfathomable fast track traveled by Yesavage, plus the arrivals of reliable relievers Braydon Fisher and Mason Fisher, has transformed Toronto’s outlook on the mound. On a staff loaded with older veterans, the importance of a younger wave of pitchers headlined by Yesavage cannot be overstated. There’s more promising arm talent looming in the minors, though it’s concerning how many of them have dealt with major injuries recently (Jake Bloss, Ricky Tiedemann, Brandon Barriera). Gage Stanifer is the 2025 breakout arm to keep an eye on this summer, though he might not throw enough strikes to be a starter.

Addison Barger’s big step forward last season helps make up for the hitters who aged out of his category. His physical tools are stupendous and enable jaw-dropping highlights on both sides of the ball; if he can refine his game further, he could play his way into an even more significant role than we’re currently giving him credit for. There’s also considerable pressure on Barger to do so, as the next wave of position players at the upper levels of the minors almost all project as role players rather than stars. That limited collective ceiling on the farm and the lack of depth in the majors keep Toronto in the bottom-third of our rankings. — J.S.

23. Minnesota Twins (total score: 13/30) | 2025 rank: 20

Young MLB hitters (3/10): 2B Luke Keaschall, SS Brooks Lee, OF Alan Roden
Young MLB pitchers (3/10): RHP Taj Bradley, RHP Mick Abel, RHP David Festa, RHP Zebby Matthews, RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson, RHP Travis Adams
Prospect hitters (4/5): OF Walker Jenkins, OF Emmanuel Rodriguez, SS Kaelen Culpepper, OF Gabriel Gonzalez, OF Hendry Mendez, C Eduardo Tait
Prospect pitchers (3/5): LHP Connor Prielipp, LHP Kendry Rojas, RHP CJ Culpepper, RHP Marco Raya, RHP Andrew Morris, RHP John Klein, LHP Dasan Hill, RHP Charlee Soto

Injuries limited him to 49 games as a rookie, but Luke Keaschall’s introduction to the majors was impressive: His .382 OBP ranked 11th among big-league bats with at least 200 plate appearances in 2025. If he can stay healthy, Minnesota should have its top-of-the-lineup tablesetter for the foreseeable future, though Keaschall’s ultimate ceiling will be determined by how much power he can access in games and how much he can improve as a defender. Conversely, Brooks Lee — the eighth pick in 2022 — has a lot to prove entering his third big-league season. The shocking trade of Carlos Correa last summer cleared the way for him to take over as the starting shortstop, but the 25-year-old switch-hitter is coming off a poor season with both the bat and the glove, which has left his outlook as a no-doubt lineup fixture in doubt.

Speaking of trades, last year’s epic deadline sell-off netted Minnesota several relevant players in these rankings, particularly on the mound. Taj Bradley (acquired from Tampa Bay for Griffin Jax) has already logged 346 more major-league innings than Mick Abel (acquired from Philadelphia for Jhoan Duran), but both right-handers turn 25 this year, and their ability to translate their premium stuff into reliable results will be paramount to Minnesota as it looks ahead to life without Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez and Bailey Ober in the rotation. There’s also substantial starting pitching depth beyond those two additions, giving the Twins a deep pool of candidates who could emerge as rotation candidates; the draft has yielded Minnesota several interesting arms who could break out further in 2026.

Unfortunately, a franchise familiar with navigating repeated injuries to its best players has encountered similar issues with Keaschall, Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez. But when these guys have been on the field, evaluators have raved about their potential impact, with Jenkins lauded as one of the most advanced hitters in the minors and Rodriguez flashing a potent power-and-patience combination that could fit in center field. Kaelen Culpepper is an athletic shortstop with electrifying bat speed who has hit his way to the upper minors and could factor in on the left side of the infield if Lee and Royce Lewis fail to entrench themselves over the next 18 months. Add the other half of the Duran return in catcher Eduardo Tait, who should play in Double-A this season at age 19, and Minnesota boasts one of the stronger crops of prospect bats league-wide. — J.S.

Can Junior Caminero and Wyatt Langford help their teams get back in the postseason picture in 2026?

(Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports)

22. Texas Rangers (total score: 14/30) | 2025 rank: 22

Young MLB hitters (6/10): OF Wyatt Langford, OF Evan Carter, OF Alejandro Osuna, 2B/OF Cody Freeman
Young MLB pitchers (3/10): RHP Jack Leiter, RHP Kumar Rocker, RHP Cole Winn, RHP Carter Baumler
Prospect hitters (2/5): SS Sebastian Walcott, SS Cameron Cauley, C Malcolm Moore
Prospect pitchers (3/5): RHP Jose Corniell, RHP Caden Scarborough, RHP David Davalillo, RHP Emiliano Teodo, RHP Winston Santos

Evan Carter seized the spotlight first with his performance during Texas’ run to the 2023 World Series, but it has become clear since then that Wyatt Langford is the outfielder who will define this next era of Rangers baseball. The hulking slugger took another step forward as a sophomore, consistently crushing the ball with his powerful, right-handed swing while rating shockingly well as a defender in the outfield. He’s the total package and continues to trend toward stardom, though the Rangers might need to get back in the postseason for Langford to garner the proper amount of recognition. Carter, meanwhile, is still only 23 years old and looks like a capable center fielder who can hit right-handed pitching, but his durability issues and struggles against southpaws might restrict him from rediscovering the star power he initially wielded.

Texas’ score was impacted late in the process by the disappointing news that Sebastian Walcott needs elbow surgery, which could jeopardize the entirety of his 2026 season. Because Walcott is considered such an impactful talent — and because there’s limited depth of near-ready minor-league bats behind him in Texas’ system — this setback was enough to dock the Rangers from 3 to 2 in the prospect hitting category. While Walcott is still worth getting excited about long-term, the possibility of him arriving in 2026 is now drastically reduced, if not entirely eliminated. That lessens the value of his proximity to the majors and adds an element of uncertainty to his developmental timeline.

There is notably more depth in the minors on the mound. Caden Scarborough was one of the biggest breakout arms in 2025, pitching his way into a crowded group of right-handers who could see major-league time in 2026. How much Texas will rely on that depth will depend on the ever-fascinating duo of Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, the long-linked teammates who delivered disparate rookie seasons in 2025. Leiter trended favorably, amassing a considerable workload and improving as the season went on; he’s a rotation lock at this stage. Rocker is still in the process of figuring things out, and it would not be surprising if his terrific slider ultimately plays best in a relief role, particularly if Texas gets impatient with his slow progress as a starter. — J.S.

21. Tampa Bay Rays (total score: 14/30) | 2025 rank: 11

Young MLB hitters (6/10): 3B Junior Caminero, OF Chandler Simpson, INF Ben Williamson, OF Justyn-Henry Malloy
Young MLB pitchers (1/10): RHP Mason Englert, RHP Yoendrys Gomez, RHP Joe Boyle
Prospect hitters (3/5): SS Carson Williams, OF Jacob Melton, 1B Xavier Isaac, 1B Tre Morgan, C Dominic Keegan, 2B Jadher Areinamo
Prospect pitchers (4/5): RHP Brody Hopkins, RHP TJ Nichols, RHP Anderson Brito, RHP Santiago Suarez, RHP Ty Johnson, RHP Michael Forret

Few teams tumbled further in this year’s rankings than the Rays, despite Junior Caminero’s breakout 2025. Let’s start there because Caminero’s ascension from hyped prospect to franchise cornerstone is a big deal. Even though the 21-year-old benefited from playing at George Steinbrenner Park, his 45-homer campaign was far from a fluke. He boasts 100th-percentile bat speed and 92nd-percentile average exit velocity; few players on Earth have this type of offensive ceiling. If Caminero can improve at the hot corner and start producing more optimal launch angles, he’s a future MVP candidate whenever Aaron Judge’s reign comes to an end.

Tampa’s total dearth of young impact MLB arms was one of the most startling realizations during this ranking process. For an organization with such a fabulous pitching development track record, the Rays haven’t matriculated a game-changing starter to the bigs in a while. Brody Hopkins, despite some reliever risk, projects as the next best candidate to fill that void. He’s a freak athlete with a devastating cutter who is still learning how to pitch; he was a primary outfielder until his draft season in 2023. Michael Forret, acquired as part of the Shane Baz haul, lacks elite raw stuff but has fantastic command. A velo jump from Forret would solidify him as a future midrotation piece.

The stagnation from a number of Tampa Bay’s hitting prospects was another reason for the team’s slide down our rankings. Carson Williams reached the big leagues but didn’t quell the massive swing-and-miss concerns that continue to dog his profile. He’s a potential Gold Glover at shortstop and has legit juice, but the 41.5% strikeout rate he ran over five weeks in the show is no aberration.

Xavier Isaac is a big first-base bopper type who snuck into the back of a few top-100 lists last year, but he had a subpar and injury-marred 2025. As with any bat-first corner type, the offensive bar is high for him. Dominic Keegan had a similarly truncated season, but his ability to catch, even at a below-average level, should carry him to a big-league role of some sort. Jacob Melton, acquired from Houston in the three-way deal that sent Brandon Lowe to Pittsburgh, is also looking for a bounce-back after a difficult debut stretch in the bigs with the Astros. — J.M.

Read the full article here