Ethan Salas, C, Padres: Salas is the second-youngest player in this year’s Fall League, just four months older than system-mate Leodalis De Vries. Salas’ 2024 season included 27 doubles over the course of a full year at High-A Fort Wayne. He got even more experience by heading to Peoria for six more weeks of at-bats and reps behind the plate. In his final game, he showed one last flash of his offensive potential. In the seventh inning, he clubbed his fourth homer in 23 AFL games, equaling the total produced in 111 games in the Midwest League. He also caught a runner stealing, his seventh snipe of the season.

Jac Caglianone, 1B, Royals: Nine months ago, Caglianone was just getting ready to take the first at-bats of his final season at Florida. Five months ago, he was two days away from becoming the Royals’ selection in the first round of the draft. He put a bow on his regular season—his Surprise club awaits the winner of the play-in game between Scottsdale and Salt River—by going 2-for-5 with a double and his fifth homer of the AFL campaign. Combined among his time at Florida, High-A Quad Cities and in the Fall League, Caglianone’s regular season line looks like this: 115 games, 153 hits, 21 doubles, 42 HRs, 73 BBs, 71 Ks.

Chase DeLauter, OF, Guardians: Because of trouble staying on the field during the regular season, DeLauter has spent each of the last two years in the Arizona Fall League. Each time, he’s shown hints of his prodigious power. This year, he closed his AFL campaign by going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, two RBIs and a walk in his team’s rout of Salt River. He finishes his turn with Surprise with a batting line of .340/.475/.511 over the course of a dozen games. He also stole two bases without being caught.

Cardinals Top 10 Prospects Entering 2025

The Cardinals round out our new NL Central Top 10s this week.

The top of the Cardinals system is headlined by JJ Wetherholt, a 2024 top 10 draft pick with the hit tool and power potential to move quickly through the lower levels and reach stardom on the big league club.

Baseball America’s Geoff Pontes is hosting a chat at 2 p.m. ET to discuss Wetherholt and the overall state of St. Louis’ farm system. You can find all our Top 10s released so far here.

Preorder Your 2025 Prospect Handbook!

Prospect Handbook season is upon us. Our staff is already in the process of building out this year’s book, beginning with Top 10s available to subscribers in a few weeks. Lock in your print copy today and we’ll send you a free digital version in January.

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