Jump: Hayden Alvarez, OF (Preseason: 12 | Midseason: 3)
Alvarez impressed in his 20-game stint with Single-A Inland Empire last year and carried that over with an impressive .296/.396/.479 slash line with 11 homers, 26 doubles, five triples, 54 RBIs and 46 stolen bases in 96 games with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. The 19-year-old Dominican Republic native recently earned a promotion to High-A Tri-City where he’s 3 1/2 years younger than the average competition. He has a rare blend of patience, power and speed but is considered a few years away from getting to the big leagues.
Fall: Chris Cortez, RHP (Preseason: 13 | Midseason: NR)
Cortez was the club’s second-round pick out of Texas A&M in 2024 and has plus stuff but has had trouble locating it. He opened this year as a starting pitcher at High-A Tri-City but had a 4.67 ERA and 26 walks in 17 1/3 innings. He was then moved to a relief role and brought up to
Double-A Rocket City but has also struggled with his control there, posting a 6.11 ERA with 24 walks in 28 innings. He’s still just 23 but will need to vastly improve his command to reach the Majors.
New to the list
Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:
No. 1, Arjun Nimmala, SS (Acquired in trade with Blue Jays)
No. 4, Jared Grindlinger, OF (No. 12 overall pick in Draft)
No. 7, Jarren Advincula, 2B (No. 45 overall pick in Draft)
No. 10, Gavin Grahovac, 3B (No. 81 overall pick in Draft)
No. 21, Mason McGwire, RHP (Acquired in trade with Cubs)
No. 22, Jacob Cozart, C (Acquired in trade with Guardians)
No. 23, Rylan Lujo, OF (No. 109 overall pick in Draft)
No. 24, Jaxon Willits, SS (No. 141 overall pick in Draft)
