Baseball might be the biggest crapshoot of the four major sports when it comes to hitting big on a prospect prediction. The 2025 MLB First Year Player Draft saw 615 players get selected across 20 rounds. The prospect pool then gets diluted even further with hundreds of international signings every year. Combine these with other exterior factors and you have the largest available talent pool below the top level in American sports. With all of these names to follow, it can be tough to lock in on which guys will eventually make a significant impact on the diamond, and who might fall short of expectations.

I want to highlight five players across the minor league levels of baseball that I think are worth investing in for the long haul, whether that is in the form of physical baseball cards or a dynasty selection in a fantasy baseball draft.

Eduardo Quintero: Los Angeles Dodgers Outfielder

The Dodgers, despite being the most complete major league team by a wide margin, have quite the stockpile of rising hitters in their farm system. There is a log jam of talent in the outfield that they eventually have to assess. I’m pretty high on a few of them, but for now I want to highlight the best bang for your buck out of their seven MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects.

Quintero, who was signed in the 2023 international pool as a catcher, has quickly developed into a potential five-tool threat in the outfield. He has phenomenal athleticism, and displayed why his stock has risen so much in the past year by delivering a .293/.415/.508 slash line across Single and High A in 2025. Quintero swiped 47 bags across 113 games, while racking up 19 home runs and 88 walks. He shows glimpses of place discipline with the latter, but also struck out 123 times last year. The signs of a patient threat in the batters box are there, but the K rate needs to drop a bit in the upcoming calendar year for Quintero to shoot up prospect rankings to where I think he should already be. He is only 20 years old, and with plenty of time for growth and a potential opportunity to get traded somewhere with a clearer path to playing time in a couple years, Quintero is well worth keeping tabs on.

Jarlin Susana: Washington Nationals Right-Handed Pitcher

With every passing day, the Juan Soto haul the Nationals received pays more and more dividends. James Wood, Mackenzie Gore, and CJ Abrams already highlight a stellar return, but Susana might end up being just as much of a game changer as the aforementioned studs.

The young righty has elite stuff, flashing a 15.2 K/9 in 2025 and an improvement in that department over each of the last two seasons. He has the size (6 foot 6) and velocity (a four-seam fastball that touches 101 mph) to become pretty much everything this age of baseball covets in a pitcher, but also shows erratic control at times (5.4 BB/9 in 2025). He spent most of the year at the AA level in Harrisburg, and projects to begin the 2026 season in AAA. Entering his age-22 season, Susana has plenty of time for improvement, but his growth as a pitcher and ascent through the Nationals farm system puts him on track to crack the MLB roster in the next two years or so.

The main drawback in Susana’s outlook that may keep investors at bay is his potential to be limited to just a relief arm with the ceiling of a closer. While that may scare away some, I think he has the tools to become a Mason Miller-esque bullpen piece. He has starting pitcher’s experience in the minors, a lofty strikeout rate, and a slider-fastball combo that has the potential to freeze hitters at any level. While he may not pan out as a full-time rotation member, the Nationals may have found themselves their closer of the future in Susana.

Slade Caldwell: Arizona Diamondbacks Outfielder

I’m not saying I think I’m going to develop a track record of hitting on Diamondbacks outfield prospects, but the last time they had a borderline Top 100 prospect with five-tool upside, it was Corbin Carroll. And if I was writing a column like this back then, Carroll would have been one of the first prospects I wrote about. Caldwell might not be on the exact same path as the dynamic Diamondbacks cornerstone, but I think he’s damn close.

At just 19 years old, Caldwell has already reached Arizona’s High-A affiliate, and drawn comparisons to Carroll by scouts and analysts alike. While some of these comps such as speed and glove efficiency are accurate, Caldwell has his own traits that show a different type of player. His main issue is that he needs to harness his realized power. He only his 3 home runs in last year’s minor league season, and his isolated power was a measly .108. With that being said, he has impressive bat speed, and that can always come together and translate to a significant improvement in the power department. Given his age, this is a very real possibility in the next two seasons in minor league ball. Caldwell also has plus plus speed and defense, which both bode well for his five-tool ceiling.

Caldwell started the 2025 season hot, posting a .294/.460/.454 slash line through his first 48 games at Single A Visalia. He was on a prolific pace, but slowed as the season progressed. He still profiles as a potential leadoff hitter with a high ceiling, and his flashes of plate discipline, highlighted by 91 walks in 114 minor league games, add another tool to the young speedster’s arsenal. If he puts it all together, I think he can be an integral part of Arizona’s lineup in just three years.

Robert Calaz: Colorado Rockies Outfielder

Calaz is a guy who has flown under the radar for the majority of the past couple years since getting signed in the 2023 International Pool for $1.7 million. Part of that is probably due to being in the Rockies system (because let’s be real, who’s checking for Colorado), and part of it is probably due to a fair decline between 2024 and 2025. He is currently 20 years of age, and is not set to turn 21 until after the 2026 season. This leaves plenty of time and room for the exponential growth I think he has in store.

His “down-year” by some people’s scouting standards in 2025 led to a .259/.338/.399 slash line at Single-A Fresno, a far cry from the .344/.446/.633 line he posted throughout 2024. He still possesses five-tool upside, although his speed is a potentially dwindling asset. Regardless, his power ceiling is impossible to ignore no matter how many negatives you look for. He hit 12 home runs in 62 minor league games in 2024, and his isolated power (slugging percentage – batting average) hit .302 in rookie ball. If Calaz can regain the form of his first two minor league seasons, he should shoot back up the prospect rankings, and very easily could find himself in the ROY conversation whenever he gets an Opening Day shot.

Rainiel Rodriguez: St Louis Cardinals Catcher

A 2024 International Class signing out of the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez has done nothing but tear the cover off the baseball and rise through the minor league ranks since his minor league debut. There is questions about whether he sticks at catcher or moves elsewhere, especially with Leonardo Bernal looking like a potential catcher of the future for the Cardinals, but Rodriguez’s offense talent is undeniable.

Between 2024 and 2025, Rodriguez swatted a whopping 30 home runs with a .298/.420/.596 slash line in 126 games across four levels. His plate discipline is also ahead of the curve with an 84:90 walk-to-strikeout ratio, and his 162 wRC+ (weighted runs created plus) in 2025 shows nothing but a straight upwards arrow. 2026 will be a major test for the young righty bat in terms of his future as a backstop, but regardless his hitting prowess should put the entire minor league on notice before seasons end (if it hasn’t already).