As regular readers are probably aware, I play almost exclusively in keeper and dynasty leagues. And, not surprisingly, there is a huge benefit to identifying and acquiring excellent pitching talent just before they arrive in the major leagues. My top pitching prospect – Paul Skenes – is up, and Roki Sasaki is both up with the Dodgers and hurt, so we need to dig deeper.

This is typically my last column of the season, and it will be again this year. However, I felt it might be interesting to do an "Early Edition" to update shifts in the food chain (it's a very fluid list with pitchers constantly moving higher and lower). It's actually becoming more of a challenge maintaining this list because every pitcher with a heartbeat gets the call – often way before they are ready.

Over the past few years there has been an unprecedented rush of young pitchers to the major leagues. And, with the push for more offense, lack of minor league seasoning can be very problematic. I'll remind you that the pitchers below are primarily guys who will likely arrive (if they haven't already) in the next year, or two at the most regardless of their status this season. Let's get started:

Put These Guys at the Top of Your Watch List:

Bubba Chandler (Pirates) – I had to hurry and write this capsule since top-shelf kid pitchers graduate every day. This could have been Roki Sasaki, Jackson Jobe or even his teammate Paul Skenes, but they are all in the majors. The Pirates should be giddy having Skenes, arguably the best starting pitcher in the game, and Chandler. To be honest, I do have him a notch behind Skenes, but he is capable of making an impact as soon as he gets the call. I'm just not sure when that will be. Like many of the guys listed here, there is no real reason for the Pirates to start his clock. In nine 2025 Triple-A starts he has a 2.17 ERA and 56 strikeouts in just 37 innings, but that is also a knock against an immediate call up. He is only averaging about four innings per start.

Noah Schultz (White Sox) – Again, we're getting into a couple blue chip youngsters who may be a little further away. The White Sox have gutted their roster to an extent I have literally never seen before. What's more they may not be done. You can play at the MLB level? You're on the block. The plan is apparently to acquire high-upside kids who should all be MLB ready at roughly the same time; maybe 2027? Schultz fits that program. He pretty much dominated in A-ball in 2023 and handled High-A, earning a promotion to Double-A Birmingham in 2024. The big lefty was drafted out of high school where his featured pitch was a wipe-out slider. The Sox are letting him face a challenging level of hitters, but they are being very conservative with his workload. In 52 pro starts to date, he has worked just 156 innings. The Sox are clearly not in any hurry.

Chase Burns (Reds) – Just out of Wake Forest, Burns has already enjoyed success at High-A Dayton, and he has looked comfortable at Double-A Chattanooga. That's a big benefit of pitching at one of the better baseball colleges (I roughly equate that experience to High-A minor league ball). He has a workhorse build, and already has been a workhorse for a few years. His best pitch is a nasty slider that he uses with a 102-mph fastball and a plus curveball. He has a serviceable change-up, but he still needs to get more comfortable throwing it to reach his true potential. Despite the heavy workload and stressful pitches, Burns has not suffered any arm problems. Cross your fingers that doesn't change. He's probably at least a year away.

Quinn Mathews (Cardinals) – Mathews has been quietly moving up on the list despite struggling to begin this season. He suffered from shoulder woes earlier, trying to pitch through them, but it didn't work. He made just three appearances (10 innings) where he walked 15 batters. In fact, he has walked 29 batters in his last 26 innings dating back to last year. Mathews has been on the injured list since mid-April, and the Cardinals hope to have him back later this month. When healthy, he features a very effective change-up to go with a mid-upper 90s fastball and a plus slider. It's all about his health. He was a workhorse in college at Stanford, so injury complications are something new to him. I always like young pitchers coming into pro ball with a solid change-up – it's still pretty rare – so I am hoping he can come back and put the injuries behind him.

Andrew Painter (Phillies) – The Phillies are being forced to be patient with their prized pitching prospect who has been injured on and off almost his entire pro career. He pitched in a couple Triple-A games with Lehigh Valley earlier this month as he hopes to put a partially torn UCL behind him. He tried to avoid the knife, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2023 and missed the last two seasons. He just turned 22-years-old in April after being taken with the 13th overall pick out of high school in 2021. High school pitching talent is pretty risky, so when a team uses an early first-round pick it's best to pay attention. He zipped through three levels of minor league ball in 2022 with a 1.56 ERA over 104 innings, piling up 155 strikeouts with only 25 walks. He starts with a high 90s fastball that touches triple digits and then complements that with a nasty slider, a change-up and a curveball. The change and curve are just "very good," but they are improving. If he can get past this UCL hurdle, he has the maturity and the tools to jump up close to the top of this list. If he can get and stay healthy he is the real deal.

Jarlin Susana (Nationals) –These next two guys are both part of the Nationals system, and both have potentially exceptional potential. The Nats love collecting big power pitchers (okay who doesn't). Susana is just 21-years-old, he's 6'6" and he touches 103 on the radar gun. Add in a slider that misses a lot of bats and a serviceable change-up, and you have a guy who could move close to the top of this list. He quickly moved up to Triple-A Harrisburg despite still struggling with control. Earlier this month he suffered a mild UCL sprain, which is a caution flag for pitchers who throw as hard as he does, but the team is convinced it is not a long-term thing. I would be happy with either Susana or Sykora on my roster, as it's hard to separate them.

Travis Sykora (Nationals) – Aces in waiting, take two. Sykora hasn't pitched above Single-A, but what a show he put on at Fredericksburg in 2024. He posted a 2.33 ERA with a 0.93 WHIP while striking out an eye-popping 129 batters in just 85 innings. Like Susana, he is 6'6" and can touch triple digits with his fastball. His repertoire includes a nasty splitter and a solid slider, but a big part of his game is extension. With his height and motion, hitters must feel like they could shake hands with him when he releases a pitch. He suffered a hip injury this spring that delayed his 2025 debut, but he's healthy again and starting off back at Single-A. I wouldn't expect him to be there long, but there is no hurry. He's still just 21 years old, so there is no pressure to bring him up, but he could get a look as early as late this season and hope for a rotation spot sometime in 2026. So now we have Sykora to go with Susana and Gore one day soon.

There are more names that could be added to this list, and I apologize if your guy isn't here – but I want to keep the Parade as pristine and pure as possible. Here are a just few honorable mentions who received consideration (in no special order) for inclusion in the current Parade: Kumar Rocker (TEX), Cade Cavalli (WAS), Thomas White (MIA), Jordan Balazovic (DET), Trey Yesavage (TOR) and Ricky Tiedemann (TOR)

Some Notable Rotation Ramblings:

• We have a new "most ignorant pitching line" badge. Nationals' southpaw MacKenzie Gore allowed two runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out nine, but he couldn't make it out of the fourth inning. If his command comes around, and I think it will, he has the stuff to be a beast.
• Jack Leiter of Texas continues to impress as he demonstrates more readiness every outing. Most recently he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Astros. He allowed a solo home run, then put two men on base in the eighth inning, which his bullpen allowed to score. His price will only go higher.
• This weekend, Philadelphia's Mick Abel out-dueled Paul Skenes in a 1-0 Phillies victory. He was sharp as nails, allowing just five hits with no walks over six innings. He struck out nine. I suppose it's possible he found the secret of control (his history has been the opposite) but mark me skeptical. Can he do it again?
• In the category of, where did that come from? I watched the Yankees-Rangers game to have a look at Patrick Corbin (he looked okay) and ended up watching Will Warren pitch the best game of his career. Caught me a little by surprise.

Endgame Odyssey:

The Mets had to be encouraged by Edwin Diaz recently. After a few weeks of substandard velocity on his fastball, he hit triple-digits in a save chance against the Yankees. Unfortunately, it wasn't all good news in the bullpen. Philadelphia's Jose Alvarado was suspended for 80 games (PED), which should clear the path for Jordan Romano to serve as their fulltime closer. I'm keeping my eye on the bullpen roles in Detroit. Early on it looked like Tommy Kahnle was going to be their ninth-inning guy, but lately we have seen Kahnle in the eighth with Will Vest handling the ninth. I look for this to continue. In Miami it looked like Jesus Tinoco was lining up more save chances, but they used him in the sixth inning against the Cubs and he promptly melted down. That probably makes Calvin Faucher the favorite for saves again. Yuck.

That's a wrap for the early Kids update. Amazingly, we're approaching the one third point in the 2025 season, so we're going to look at bullpens the next two weeks.

See where future major league baseball starts slot into RotoWire's MLB Top Prospects & Rankings for 2025!