Santa Claus is back at the North Pole, and we've officially welcomed 2024. December is one of the rare months in Texas when the baseball calendar almost comes to a complete halt. I say “almost” because I’m sure somewhere there is a workout, a game being played, something happening on a field. I use a lot of this time to work on our rankings, plan for the upcoming spring season and write, which is why you’re here. 

The 2023 baseball calendar was packed: spring high school season beginning the first week of February with scrimmages and ending in early June with the THSCA All-Star Game; Five Tool summer schedule kicking off in late May and running through early August; two weeks at Area Code in August; fall Five Tool schedule, scout team games and prospect workouts after the summer. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I saw a ton of baseball during 2023. December is also a time to think back about the best of the best: best players, performances, games, moments and more. I saw a lot of really good players of all ages, teams, games, events and more. As we wave goodbye to 2023, I wanted to share some “best of” stories from my in-person looks while also emptying my scouting notebook and publishing a lot of reports that have been hanging out in my hard drive. My final project: building lineups with the best prospects from the 2024, 2025 and 2026 classes I saw in person during 2023. 

A few things about this exercise: I tried to avoid stretching the defensive positioning; meaning, I didn’t slot guys into positions that weren’t realistic just to get their talent/prospect status in the lineup. With catchers, I selected players who I felt good about sticking at the position long-term and being able to impact the game defensively as well as offensively. And with designated hitters, I went with one of the best pure hitters in the nation for one team while adding some big right-handed thump and catching depth with the other two teams. There are some positions, like shortstop, that could have filled a huge chunk of these three teams on their own, which means some fantastic prospects at those respective positions were left off simply because I could only pick so many of them. When you mix three classes of players, it does add some imperfect evaluation, for lack of a better phrase. However, I thought it was a fun way to shine a light on the next batch of superstar talents and it makes sense to view many of those types of players as less of a finished prospect and in some cases a little more projectable than their 2024 counterparts. 

Like the list of the best 55 pitching prospects I saw in person during 2023, there are going to be some superstar names left off these three teams like Konnor Griffin, Grady Emerson, PJ Morlando, Coy James and others who I didn’t see in person. Chances are many of these players have extensive coverage already on their profiles and each of the 2024 pitchers listed has already been covered recently with a very detailed scouting report. Who made the first team? Let’s take a look:

FIRST TEAM

C – Trent Grindlinger - 2025 - Huntington Beach (CA) – Mississippi State commit
1B – Ryan Harwood - 2026 – Casteel (AZ)
2B – Kayson Cunningham  - 2025 – Claudia Taylor Johnson (TX) – Texas Tech commit
SS – Eli Willits – 2026 – Fort Cobb-Broxton (OK) – Oklahoma commit
3B – Ethan Holliday – 2025 – Stillwater (OK) – Oklahoma State commit

OF – Slade Caldwell – 2024 – Valley View (AR) – Ole Miss signee
OF – Dean Moss – 2025 – IMG Academy (FL) – LSU commit
OF – Quentin Young – 2025 – Oaks Christian (CA) – LSU commit

DH/INF – Brady Ebel – 2025 – Corona (CA) – LSU commit
UTIL – Rookie Shepard – 2026 – Faith Lutheran Academy (NV) – Miami commit
Two-way – Bryce Rainer - 2024 – Harvard-Westlake (CA) – Texas signee

During the summer, I saw a lot of really good catchers. But I’m not sure I saw one who stood out significantly above the rest of the pack, especially when you combine classes. Grindlinger earned the nod here after an excellent Area Code. He was the most effective catch-and-throw prospect with pop times around 2.0 and even one as low as 1.9. With good size and future pop from the right side, I felt good about Grindlinger, who recently committed to Mississippi State, being able to stick at catcher long-term and impact the game with his bat. Harwood had one of my favorite left-handed swings - a short, efficient, powerful stroke - during Area Code and is a classic masher who has an imposing physical presence. With first base, I tried to keep it to guys who might actually end up there long-term and Harwood’s offensive outlook as a 2026 prospect is extremely promising even if he ends up at first base. 

As President of the Kayson Cunningham Fan Club, I’ve covered his abilities at length. Just check his loaded profile page. If you need a refresher: plus runner, plus future left-handed hit tool, good makeup/intangibles, one of the nation’s top performers against good pitching and a chance to stick at shortstop. Since Cunnnigham’s arm is the lowest-graded part of his defensive package, I slid him over to second base where he could end up in professional baseball, although he’ll get a long look at shortstop. I could make a strong case I might be president of this guy’s fan club, too. Eli Willits was the best prospect I saw in the 2026 class. A surefire first-round talent when that time comes around, Willits is a legitimate switch-hitter with a good bat, at least plus wheels, and some of the best baseball IQ/instincts and defending in the middle infield I saw all year. He plays the game with a beautiful blend of quick-twitch yet smooth actions and decision-making that is a step ahead of the game. 

By now, even casual baseball fans probably know the Holliday brothers. Ethan is a superstar prospect and although it remains to be seen if he’ll end up being the slam dunk top prospect in baseball like older brother Jackson currently is, I’d say he’s probably the current favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. Jackson is a little smaller and faster with a better future hit tool while Ethan is going to be bigger, stronger and hit for more power. There’s a real chance the younger Holliday can stick at shortstop even if he ends up being around 6-4, 220 pounds. But there’s also a chance he simply slides to third base where he could be a plus defender. Caldwell was covered at length recently in my top 2024 position player prospects, and it’s been great to see him back running blazing 60-yard dash times after surgery this past summer. Moss, who has been a top performer for years against competition a year older than him, possesses one of the best combinations of left-handed swing, plate skills and bat speed in the nation. Throw in that there’s a chance he could profile in center field and Moss checks the boxes of an elite prospect. Plus, he’s an excellent competitor who is seemingly wired to process pitches better than most hitters and makes adjustments pitch-to-pitch exceptionally well. 

Before he re-classified to the 2025 class, Young was neck-and-neck with Willits as the top 2026 prospect I saw. Even as a member of the 2025 class, he’s still a superstar prospect who will garner first-round consideration. The nephew of Delmon and Dimitri Young, Quentin put on a show at Area Code by hammering rockets all over the yard, moving well for a 6-5, 215-pound youngster and also has a plus, maybe plus-plus arm. The game comes naturally to him and his reactions/hands profiled well at third base, but I needed to fit him in somewhere. It’s possible he fits best long-term in a corner outfield spot especially with his fantastic arm. Ebel is perhaps the best pure hitter I saw in the 2025 class. Throw in he’s young for his class and hits left-handed and it was a no-brainer to name him to the first team in some capacity. He has advanced, exceptional plate skills and hardly ever whiffs. 

A left-handed hitter with a short, efficient, quick swing that has a low whiff rate, Shepard is among the elite names in the 2026 class. He is a legitimate catching prospect, but probably settles in on the infield dirt somewhere. Regardless, he can really, really hit and moves very well. Based on what I saw in San Diego and what I know about Rainer, I think he could be a first-round prospect as a position player or pitcher. He is the best two-way prospect in the nation with a true chance to stick at shortstop despite his 6-3, 190-pound frame. How impressive was his short look on the mound at Area Code? His range of outcomes as a prospect this spring includes being the top pitching prospect in the nation if he ends up throwing a starter’s workload for Harvard-Westlake.

P – Levi Sterling – 2024 - Notre Dame (CA) – Texas signee
P – Joey Oakie – 2024 – Ankeny Centennial (IA) – Iowa signee
P – Seth Hernandez – 2025 – Corona (CA) – Vanderbilt commit
P – Cam Caminiti – 2024 – Saguaro (AZ) – LSU signee
P – Marcos Paz – 2025 – Hebron (TX) – LSU commit

Sterling, Oakie and Caminiti were all covered at length HERE. Hernandez, who received several paragraphs dedicated to glowingly describing his Area Code performance HERE, is the top pitching prospect in the 2025 class and there’s currently a pretty sizable gap between who is second, which happens to be Paz. That’s not a knock at Paz. Obviously, he’s an elite prospect and lands on my first team. His profile is loaded with videos and several scouting reports. If I could describe him in a different way I believe I haven't before, at least in these exact words: he’s a silent assassin on the mound. 

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor and National Scout