As we inch closer to the 2025 season, I am going to give top three prospects at each position. This will be based on where they currently play and also where they may end up. This will culminate with my newly updated top 30 prospects before the season starts. This week, we are moving on to the pitching position.
Previous Top Three:
1. Miguel Ullola
Ullola signed for only $75,000 but is one of the highest potential pitching prospects in the system. The right-hander has a compact build with a fastball that he can run up to the mid 90s, though it plays up even more with the vertical break which generates a ton of swings and misses. He pairs that with a solid slider and cutter. In 2024, he started the year in Double-A and struck out 166 batters over 127.1 innings, allowing just 72 hits. He got a late promotion to Triple-A and made two starts striking out 10 over 7 innings, including 4 scoreless innings in the PCL Championship game. He held opponents to just a .163 BAA over the course of the season.
2. A.J. Blubaugh
Blubaugh was a 7th round pick back in the 2022 draft out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Despite a higher ERA in High-A in 2023, Blubaugh struck out 112 in 100 innings including 19 K in 14.1 innings with a 1.26 ERA in Double-A to end the season. He was sent to the Arizona Fall League where he had a 2.25 ERA with 17 K in 12 innings. He has a low to mid 90s fastball along with a solid changeup and slider. In 2024, Blubaugh posted a 3.83 ERA with 128 strikeouts in 124.2 innings in Triple-A. Read more on him here.
3. Ryan Forcucci
Forcucci is a right-handed pitcher listed at 6’3″ and 205 lbs that the Astros selected in the third round of the draft this year. The 21-year-old only made five starts in 2024, but was dominant posting a 2.16 ERA with 37 K in 25 innings. He has a mid 90s fastball that tops at 97 and a wipeout slider in the 80s. The only question is durability, but when he is on the field he has pitched well. He was seen as a potential first rounder early in the season but Tommy John surgery caused him to slide.
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