Baseball America is always one of the first (if not the first) shops to put out an early top 10 for teams In November. They then follow it up with their more comprehensive Handbook and top 30 towards the end of January. But, it’s good to get a read on where they think things are at the top. For what its worth, last year BA did not change its top 10 rankings from Nov 2024 to its eventual release in Jan 2025, so it seems likely this is their top 10 for us.
Here’s their top 10 for 2026, and where BA had these players ranked in Mid August, after all the trades and drafting had settled.
| Current Rank | 8/13/25 Rank | First Name | Last Name | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Eli | Willits | SS |
| 2 | 2 | Jarlin | Susana | RHP (Starter) |
| 3 | 3 | Travis | Sykora | RHP (Starter) |
| 4 | 4 | Alex | Clemmey | LHP (Starter) |
| 5 | 9 | Seaver | King | SS |
| 6 | 15 | Jake | Bennett | LHP (Starter) |
| 7 | 5 | Luke | Dickerson | SS/CF |
| 8 | 7 | Coy | James | SS |
| 9 | 16 | Angel | Feliz | 3B/SS |
| 10 | 11 | Landon | Harmon | RHP (Starter) |
Here’s some quick observations of this top 10.
- This seems like a very “conservative” top 10, one that’s mostly based on youth, ceiling, and promise. Four of these 10 guys didn’t play above rookie ball, if at all, in 2025.
- A reminder: doing a top 10 is easy. Doing a top 30 is harder.
- BA has no changes to its top four players from mid August, despite a year gone for Sykora and a likely delay in the start of his 2026 season for Susana. I’m not sure I agree with this honestly, especially since Susana was hurt more than once in 2025.
- They elevated Seaver King to #5, despite his season-long malaise, but perhaps with the benefit of seeing his performance in Arizona. Interesting. Is it fair to just “throw out” his entire 2026 at this point thanks to some ill-advised piece of advice from an unnamed Nats player development staffer? My ranking him at #16 just after the season is looking like a take that won’t age well, and I will be putting him back into the top 10 with my own pre-2026 ranking at some point next spring.
- Bennett gets the expected bump well back into the top 10.
- Despite major struggles, Dickerson only drops a couple spots. His ranking is going to be a point of discussion with all these shops this off-season: i’ve seen him as high as #3, and as low as #27, on lists so far this off-season.
- Our two 2025 draft $2M+ bonus prep kids James and Harmon are 8 and 10
- Feliz continues to march up the boards, now inside the top 10 of a major ranking for the first time.