While there are certainly followers of the Minor Leagues who are just diehard MiLB fans, they don't represent the bulk of those interested. Most fans simply want to know which prospects are going to be a part of their MLB team's future, and how soon they are going to be in the big leagues.
Unfortunately, answers to those questions are rarely simple. Some players take a while to figure things out, while others seem to have the game figured out from their first day as a pro. Every season brings surprises good and bad and prospect evaluators just have to do their best to keep up with all of the developments over the long season.
However, a few top prospects have already found a way to cut through all the noise early in 2025 to make strong cases to get promoted to the majors.
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MLB prospects who are already pushing for big-league playing time early in 2025
We have already seen a number of big names make their debuts in 2025 with the Red Sox's Kristian Campbell, the Dodgers' Roki Sasaki (who is a bit of a special case), and the Rockies' Zac Veen and Chase Dollander. More talent is still on the way this season, though, so here is a quick look at some of the players that are pushing for playing time in the big leagues in the coming weeks and months.
Nick Kurtz, Athletics
No one doubted that Kurtz hit he ball hard before the 2024 MLB Draft, but there were some questions as to whether or not his massive frame would be able to keep up with the speed of the pro game. We have seen a lot of college power hitters end up not having the athleticism or bat speed to consistently make contact off of more advanced pitching, and Kurtz felt like a similar profile.
Fortunately for the Athletics, Kurtz has been a revelation from the day he was drafted. Not only did Kurtz squash any doubts almost immediately, but he has excelled with every challenge the team has thrown at him. Despite just being drafted last year, Kurtz started the season in Triple-A and has rewarded the A's faith in him with a 1.226 OPS through his first 14 games. It doesn't seem like the Athletics are pushing hard to win right now, so getting called up later in the season feels likely so that they can preserve a year of Kurtz's service time. Based on the eye test alone, though, Kurtz already looks like a big league hitter ā and a good one at that.
Nick Kurtz, the No. 4 overall pick in last yearās draft, leads all Minor League hitters with 6 home runs - in just 10 games!
ā MLB (@MLB) April 9, 2025
The top @Athletics prospect launched one 455 feet today š³ pic.twitter.com/Cjt0IUbBFw
Bubba Chandler, Pirates
Coming into camp, Pirates fans were hopeful that the team would allow Chandler to win a spot in the starting rotation. However, it seems like the team wanted him to get a little more time at Triple-A and had little interest in starting his service clock early, so back to the Minors he went.
The arguments in favor of keeping Chandler off Pittsburgh's roster are getting worse by the day, however. Not only has Chandler been displaying improvement to his already-insane raw stuff including chucking a 101.5 mph fastball in a game, but the results have been great as well. With a 1.69 ERA through his first three starts, the only thing Chandler needs to do is get fully stretched out. After that, the only thing keeping him down would be the Pirates' miserly tendencies.
Roman Anthony, Red Sox
The Red Sox's "Big Three" prospects were the talk of spring training. The hype train didn't slow down when all three of Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer homered in the team's Spring Breakout game. Campbell didn't have to wait for his big-league opportunity, so the question has turned to which of Mayer and Anthony would be the next man up?
Between the Red Sox's infield already being crowded and Mayer getting off to a slow start in the Minors, he feels unlikely to be called up anytime soon. Anthony isn't off to a completely insane start down at Triple-A, but he still has an .884 OPS through 12 games and many thought he was ready for a big-league opportunity before the season started. Expect Boston to give him a look in the Majors pretty soon.
Cade Horton, Cubs
The Cubs are off to a really strong start to the 2025 season. After trading for Kyle Tucker, Chicago looks to be among the top contenders in the relatively weak NL Central. Unfortunately, the Cubs just found out that pitcher Justin Steele is out for the season, but that could open the door for Horton to get some time in the big-league rotation.
While Chicago is being careful with Horton so far given his injury history, his production is hard to ignore. He currently sports a 1.23 ERA through his first two starts at Triple-A with 12 strikeouts in 7.1 innings of work. The fact that Horton hasn't thrown more than four innings in a start in 2025 so far and has had issues with walks could force the Cubs to pump the brakes on him for now, but expect Horton to be in play for a promotion as early as the first half of 2025.