As the year comes to a close, MLB Pipeline analysts have highlighted several prospects who made significant progress during the 2025 season. On the final MLB Pipeline Podcast of the year, host Jason Ratliff and Jim Callis discussed five players whose performances stood out: Caleb Bonemer, Edward Florentino, Nate George, Carlos Lagrange, and Payton Tolle.
The discussion did not require that players be included in the Top 100 Prospects list, though four of the five finished the year on it.
Jim Callis reflected on Caleb Bonemer’s development with the Chicago White Sox. “Up and down high school career, in terms of the showcase circuit. If you saw him at his best, he looked really good. And if you saw him when he wasn’t playing well, he did not look really good. I thought he was inconsistent, I didn’t think he was a shortstop. The White Sox gave him $3 million, minus the $2,500 accounting trick, as a second-round pick in 2024. So, I was like, OK, this is interesting. And he was tremendous this year. He was MVP in the Carolina League, hit .283, had an OPS of almost .900 with 12 homers, made two Class A stops in his first full year in pro ball. And, even more so, his defense at shortstop was better than realized. Looks like he can play shortstop. Now, I don’t know if Caleb Bonemer will actually play shortstop in Chicago, but he’s capable of it, and he’s a guy who’s a better hitter and a better defender than I personally realized. So, my apologies to Caleb Bonemer for not being as bullish on him as I perhaps should have been.”
Edward Florentino also emerged after starting last season without much recognition. “He was in the DSL last year, wasn’t a big name guy and came over here and just hit for power, tore up Rookie ball, tore up Single-A, hit 16 homers in 80 games, and was a guy who … I had never heard of Edward Florentino before the season and now he’s on the Top 100 Prospects list. The power is for real,” said Callis.
Nate George moved from being unranked to becoming one of Baltimore’s notable prospects by showing strong performance across multiple levels this season.
“He was not ranked on the Orioles list entering the season; he’s not on the Top 100 right now but he might be soon… He went from Rookie ball to High-A; hit .334 with 50 steals in 82 games… He just looks really really good… if I was trading with the Orioles and offered my pick of those two guys [Nate George or Enrique Bradfield Jr.] I would take Nate George over Bradfield,” Callis stated.
Carlos Lagrange improved significantly within the New York Yankees system after dealing with injuries last year.
“Carlos Lagrange was always interesting but he didn’t pitch much in 2024 because of back inflammation… Then his control was better and his health was fine this year and he looked tremendous… He can push the fastball up to 102 mph… His sweeper was more consistent; he did a better job locating it for strikes… But now instead of being a lottery ticket he looks like a guy who might be able to help the Yankees even as soon as this year,” said Callis.
Payton Tolle advanced rapidly through Boston’s organization following some initial skepticism about his draft profile.
“He’s another guy who… I’ll admit I was low on coming out of Draft… When he was at TCU… Big 12 Conference Pitcher of Year… Red Sox took him second round… threw like 75 percent fastballs… But Red Sox have done nice job recently with pitchers… They’ve had him dial back fastball usage; slider got better; added little power to it; changeup has gotten little bit better… We saw him get to big leagues and pitch playoffs… The Red Sox helped him get better,” Callis explained.
These prospects’ advancements reflect both individual improvement and organizational development efforts during 2025.
