This year's MLB trade deadline featured a late, record-breaking flurry of activity, sending prospects to new teams in the final days and hours before 6 p.m. ET arrived on Tuesday.
By now you probably have formed an opinion of the MLB veterans headed to new teams, but it's much more difficult to figure out what to make of the minor leaguers who have moved.
Don't worry, we've got you covered. Here's our ranking of every notable prospect who was dealt during July sorted by tiers using my Future Value grades so you can see where they slot in an MLB top 100 list or your team's farm system ranking.
50 FV tier
(roughly 50th through 120th overall)
1. Aidan Smith, CF, Tampa Bay Rays (traded by Mariners)
2. Jake Bloss, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays (traded by Astros)
3. George Klassen, RHP, Los Angeles Angels (traded by Phillies)
4. Agustin Ramirez, C, Miami Marlins (traded by Yankees)
5. Dylan Lesko, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays (traded by Padres)
I don't have any of these guys in my current working top 100 list (Lesko was on the preseason edition but has regressed this season), but, as you can surmise from the section heading, they're all very close and could find their way into the next edition as I continue to research for the Top 100 update that's coming soon.
Smith shows above-average to plus pitch selection, in-game power, speed and arm strength with a center/right field fit depending on how he develops defensively. His bat-to-ball ability is just OK, but he looks like a starter with some upside: yet another arrow-up prep position player drafted by the Mariners. Ramirez is a good enough defender to catch in the big leagues, but will always be an offense-first type and a power-over-contact hitter. He might hit 25 homers and be a starting catcher if things click, but there's some Mike Napoli/Mitch Garver type outcomes in which he hits enough to play first base and DH.
Bloss is a wild story, a 22-year-old grad student at Georgetown who was seriously looking into finance jobs but then had a breakout spring, ended up going in the third round last summer and now a year later is on the verge of being a top-100 prospect who has already made his big league debut. Now he can add headlining a deadline day trade to his list of accomplishments in the past year.
Klassen is another 2023 draft riser, going from a sixth-round pick with 20-grade command to improving his offspeed stuff and throwing more strikes immediately in pro ball; we'll see if the command continues to play at the upper levels. Lesko is a personal favorite with some of the best raw stuff you'll see from a projected starter, including an 80-grade changeup, but his command has been extremely spotty after returning from Tommy John surgery as a high school senior. The Rays have teased out more command from power arms before (Tyler Glasnow, Shane McClanahan, etc.), so that seems to be the plan once again.
45+ FV tier
(roughly 121st through 180th overall)
6. Deyvison De Los Santos, 1B, Miami Marlins (traded by D-backs)
7. Joey Loperfido, CF, Toronto Blue Jays (traded by Astros)
8. Brody Hopkins, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays (traded by Mariners)
9. Thayron Liranzo, C, Detroit Tigers (traded by Dodgers)
10. Robby Snelling, LHP, Miami Marlins (traded by Padres)
11. Adam Mazur, RHP, Miami Marlins (traded by Padres)
De Los Santos was the headliner in the deal that kicked off deadline week, where Arizona landed A.J. Puk.
Deyvison De Los Santos has had a fascinating 8 months
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) July 26, 2024
- Nov 2023: not added to ARZ 40-man roster
- Dec 2023: Rule 5 pick by CLE
- Mar 2024: returned to ARZ (cleared waivers)
- June 2024: turned 21 while in AAA
he's hitting .325/.376/.635 with 28 HR in 87 games in AA/AAA this yr https://t.co/lOLY3auOJD
He has 30-homer type power and will likely always be a .240 or .250 type of hitter in terms of raw contact ability, but he'll have to cut down his out-of-zone chases to realize that upside in the big leagues. He's passable at third base, but is more of a first baseman going forward. Liranzo is similar but is passable behind the plate with first base his other potential destination, and he's two levels behind De Los Santos at the same age of 21 years old. Liranzo has 25-30 homer upside with some contact limitations but has a better chance to be a useful big leaguer because he has above average pitch selection while De Los Santos' is well below average. Loperfido is a plus runner with plus power that can play all three outfield positions but has some contact-based limitations himself.
Snelling and Mazur both moved from the Padres to the Marlins as the two best prospects in the four-player Tanner Scott return. Snelling was the No. 39 overall pick in 2022 out of a Nevada high school and was also a four-star linebacker recruit at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds. He ran his heater into the mid-90s, had two average-or-better offspeed pitches and good feel. Snelling's velo hasn't spiked in pro ball, his offspeed pitches settled around average and this year his command has backed up, but there's still a path to being a back-end big league starter. Mazur was a late-blooming college arm who has a little more raw stuff than Snelling, but also projected as a potential back-end type. He was shelled in eight big league starts and there's some concern his fastball shape isn't good enough to get swings-and-misses in the big leagues at 93-96 mph, roughly average velo for a big league righty (as weird as that sounds).
Hopkins was a pop-up pitcher in the 2023 spring at Winthrop, where the 6-foot-4 righty was a primary center fielder who dabbled on the mound. Teams liked his upside as a mid-90s arm with a plus-flashing sweeper and usable changeup, making him a sixth-round pick like Klassen above. Hopkins is sitting 94-96 and hitting 99 mph as a starter with far better surface stats than he had last year in college, so it's safe to say things have clicked quicker than expected. He may still be a late-inning reliever or multi-inning player, but his plus stuff will play in any role.
45 FV tier
12. Jared Serna, 2B, Miami Marlins (traded by Yankees)
13. Alex Clemmey, LHP, Washington Nationals (traded by Guardians)
14. Nick Yorke, 2B, Pittsburgh Pirates (traded by Red Sox)
15. Samuel Aldegheri, LHP, Los Angeles Angels (traded by Phillies)
16. Connor Norby, 2B, Miami Marlins (traded by Orioles)
17. Mason Barnett, RHP, Oakland Athletics (traded by Royals)
18. Caleb Lomavita, C, Washington Nationals (traded by Royals)
Serna is above average at almost everything, but his only plus tool is his speed and the fact he's a 5-foot-7 second baseman. Yorke isn't a great runner or defender, but he can hit and has enough power for 15ish homers. Norby isn't that exciting, but projects to be a roughly average hitter for average, plate discipline and in-game power as a primary second baseman who is fine defensively but will likely play some first base and left field as well. Lomavita was taken with the 2024 draft pick traded in the Hunter Harvey deal; he was seen as the top catcher in the draft by many teams with above-average tools but is in need of refinement as he's new to catching.
Clemmey is an exciting, loose, lanky 6-foot-6 lefty who had been into the upper-90s with an arms-and-legs delivery in high school in 2023, but has toned it down a bit in his pro debut this season; there's midrotation starter upside if the command comes along. Aldegheri was the second-best prospect headed to the Angels in the Carlos Estevez deal but may also be a big league starter. He sits 92-94 mph and mixes in two above-average breaking balls along with starter feel. There's some reliever risk with Barnett, but he's performed through the minors (now in Triple-A) as a starter, sitting 94-96 mph and mixing in a plus slider; he'll find a meaningful big league role.
This tier is a little smaller than I expected mostly because a number of graduated prospects who were traded would fit in this area: Kyle Stowers, Quinn Priester, Jose Tena, Joey Wiemer and Miguel Vargas. Christopher Morel would be in the first or second group.
40+ FV tier
19. Graham Pauley, 3B, Miami Marlins (traded by Padres)
20. Mac Horvath, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays (traded by Orioles)
21. Charles McAdoo, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays (traded by Pirates)
22. Rafael Ramirez Jr., SS, Washington Nationals (traded by Guardians)
23. Trey Sweeney, SS, Detroit Tigers (traded by Yankees)
23. Jeral Perez, 2B, Chicago White Sox (traded by Dodgers)
24. Cayden Wallace, 3B, Washington Nationals (traded by Royals)
25. Ty Johnson, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays (traded by Cubs)
26. Jonatan Clase, CF, Toronto Blue Jays (traded by Mariners)
Pauley went from 2022 13th-rounder to the 2024 Opening Day roster for the Padres, but has spent most of this season in Triple-A. He's a lefty-hitting corner utility type with a standout hit tool and modest power. Horvath has made strides at the plate since being the 53rd overall pick in 2023 out of North Carolina; he's tracking like a solid big leaguer now. McAdoo is another late bloomer after going in the 13th round from San Jose State last summer. He's now in Double-A with 20-25 homer upside and positional versatility. Perez is a second/third base type fit that may hit 20-25 homers with that pop as his carrying tool. Ramirez and Perez are similar as low minors power-over-hit infielders, but Ramirez is a left-handed hitter who can play shortstop.
I've always liked Sweeney, but he's trending toward something less than I expected in the draft. He's a 6-foot-3, lefty-hitting utility type (maybe a second-division starter) with above-average power potential and some feel to hit. Wallace is a former second-rounder who is either a corner utility guy or low-end starter. Clase is an 80-grade runner who made his big league debut this year and isn't that refined but is at least a solid fourth outfielder. Johnson is yet another late bloomer -- he's a 2023 15th-rounder out of Ball State who I'd never heard of until he was traded -- whose velo is spiking of late, helping his starter traits matter now that his stuff looks like enough to get swings-and-misses in the big leagues.
10 prospects I like from the 40 FV tier
Luis Peralta, LHP, Colorado Rockies (traded by Pirates)
Cutter Coffey, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays (traded by Red Sox)
Jackson Baumeister, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays (traded by Orioles)
Hunter Bigge, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays (traded by Cubs)
Bradley Blalock, RHP, Colorado Rockies (traded by Brewers)
Seth Johnson, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies (traded by Orioles)
Alexander Albertus, SS, Chicago White Sox (traded by Dodgers)
William Bergolla, SS, Chicago White Sox (traded by Phillies)
Abrahan Ramirez, 3B, Miami Marlins (traded by Yankees)
Moises Chace, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies (traded by Orioles)