Players featured on last year’s edition of the best tools among Top 100 prospects should look familiar to even casual baseball fans at this point.

Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes (best fastball, slider) took the Major Leagues by storm as the NL Rookie of the Year, thanks to his hard-throwing ways and elite pitch mix. Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (best power) posted a 116.3 mph max exit velocity that topped the rookie leaderboards. Cubs youngster Pete Crow-Armstrong (best defender) was worth 14 Outs Above Average in his first full MLB campaign, tied for fifth-best among MLB center fielders, and when you incorporate his arm talent, his +16 Fielding Run Value runs were third-best among all position players. Speaking of arms, Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (strongest arm) registered the hardest throw from an MLB shortstop in 2024 (101.2 mph) and accounted for six of the 15 hardest overall at the position.

Sure, Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday (best hitter) served as a reminder that not all skills translate to the bigs immediately, especially when it comes to hitting -- that hardest feat in all of the major sports. But the adage remains true -- have tools, will travel.

These are the best tools on the 2025 Top 100, rated on the traditional 20-80 scouting scale in which 50 is considered average:

Best hitter: Jacob Wilson, SS, Athletics (70)

Wilson is the closest player to Luis Arráez on this year’s preseason list as a hitter with extremely good contact rates, incredible hand-eye coordination and a willingness to put the ball in play above all else. The 2023 sixth overall pick whiffed on only 9 percent of his swings across all levels in his first full season, and he was one of only five Major Leaguers to post a strikeout rate below 10 percent over a sample of 100 plate appearances or more. Like Arráez, Wilson expands the zone too much at times in search of that contact and could use more impact to help those hits pack punches. But the former Grand Canyon star -- a .361 hitter in college and .401 hitter in the Minors -- reached the A’s MLB roster so quickly for a reason.

Other 70-grade hit tool: Travis Bazzana, 2B, Guardians

Most power: Jac Caglianone, 1B, Royals (70)

Caglianone’s power was legendary during his run at the University of Florida. He clubbed 68 homers between his sophomore and junior years in 2023 and 2024, and it isn’t very difficult to see why. The left-handed slugger stands in the box at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds and has the strength to muscle the ball to every part of the field. (He registered 110+ mph exit velocities seven times in an Arizona Fall League run.) He knows it too, which is why he expanded the zone a bit too much in college, and lowering that chase rate will be key to getting the pop to play on the pro side. Kansas City will keep Caglianone’s focus on hitting in 2025 after he played both ways as a Gator, and that could enble him to muscle his way to the bigs in short order.

Other 70-grade power tools: Charlie Condon, OF/3B, Rockies; Bryce Eldridge, 1B, Giants; Xavier Isaac, 1B, Rays; Coby Mayo, 3B/1B, Orioles

Fastest runner: Justin Crawford, OF, Phillies (75)

The 17th overall pick in 2022, Crawford was known for his wheels coming out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, and he’s hit the ground running through two full seasons of pro ball. He swiped 47 bags in 2023 and added 42 more thefts last year as he reached Double-A Reading. His 89 steals rank 17th in the Minor Leagues in that span, and no one else in the Top 100 has more than 66.

Strongest arm and best defender: Carson Williams, SS, Rays (70 for both)

Tampa Bay’s top prospect routinely comes up in conversations as one of the best defenders in all of the Minors, and both his glovework and arm strength are parts of that discussion. An above-average runner with good instincts, Williams can get to most balls hit his way on the dirt, and he has the steady hands to see the ball into the glove. Once there, his plus-plus arm strength doesn’t just mean he fires rockets; he also earns plaudits for his accuracy. The best defenders make both highlight-reel plays and consistent mundane ones too (or in some cases, make highlight-reel plays look mundane), and Williams fits the description. It’s what gives him such a high floor entering his age-22 season and potential MLB debut.

Other 70-grade arm tools: Max Clark, OF, Tigers; Konnor Griffin, SS/OF, Pirates; Coby Mayo, 3B/1B, Orioles; Braden Montgomery, OF, White Sox; Bryce Rainer, SS, Tigers; Sebastian Walcott, SS/3B, Rangers

Fastball: Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Brewers (80)

Touching triple digits will always arch a few eyebrows, but it isn’t velocity alone that earns Misiorowski the nod here. The 6-foot-7 right-hander gets elite extension to shorten the distance between his release and the batter, giving them even less time to react, and his three-quarters release is on the low side, giving him a flat approach angle that enables the heater to buzz over bats. Opposing batters hit just .212 off Misiorowski’s heater at Double-A and Triple-A in 2024, and their whiff rate on the pitch was 31 percent; Major League average was .247 and 22 percent last season.

Curveball: Misiorowski (70)

As if that fastball wasn’t enough, Misiorowski’s curveball is another devastating pitch -- a mid-80s two-plane snapper with bite. The 22-year-old didn’t allow a hit off his curve in 14 Triple-A appearances and elicited whiffs on 41 percent of swings against the pitch at the Minors’ top level. The fastball, curve and hard slider give the Milwaukee righty an imposing arsenal, but concerns about overall command and control continue to follow him. Even so, the mix could be special enough to make Misiorowski an elite closer as early as this summer.

Slider: Kumar Rocker, RHP, Rangers (70)

It’s called a “death ball” for a reason. After Tommy John surgery slowed him early in his career, Rocker got to unleash his killer breaking pitch for good in the upper Minors and eventually the Major Leagues last year. It’s a mid-80s offering that has gyro action and appears at times to drop straight down, rather than have some of the gloveside movement you’d expect from a traditional slider or sweeper. That shape befuddles hitters completely; the slider had a 66 percent swing-and-miss rate in Double-A, Triple-A and the Majors last year.

Other 70-grade sliders: Chase Burns, RHP, Reds; Cade Horton, RHP, Cubs; Jackson Jobe, RHP, Tigers; Noah Schultz, LHP, White Sox

Changeup: Tink Hence, RHP, Cardinals (70)

Some of the best changeups look like fastballs … until it’s too late. That’s exactly what happens with Hence’s 82-84 mph circle change -- a pitch that comes in with similar arm angle and intent as his 92-96 mph fastball, only to hit the brakes as it approaches the plate. Texas League batters could barely touch Hence’s cambio in 2024; the pitch had a 73 percent whiff rate overall and 63 percent whiff rate in the zone. Even when it was over the plate, there was little they could do.

Splitter: Roki Sasaki, RHP, Dodgers (80)

Sasaki’s triple-digit fastball will garner plenty of fan intrigue as he moves stateside, especially if he can get his velo to bounce back after a slight dip in 2024, but the real seamheads will pay attention to his 88-90 mph splitter. The offering has wowed evaluators on both sides of the Pacific because it comes in hard for such an offspeed offering and often drops straight down, eschewing the armside movement typically associated with splitters and changeups. It garnered a 57.1 percent whiff rate in NPB last year; only Reds hurler Fernando Cruz (59.3 percent) had a better rate of swing-and-miss in the Majors in ‘24.

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Cutter: Jackson Jobe, RHP, Tigers (60)

Jobe’s high-spin slider has enamored scouts since his amateur days, but the 2021 third overall pick added a bridge cutter in late 2022, trying to find something between his fastball and the sweep of his slider. The cutter was the Tigers righty’s most-used secondary pitch during his brief MLB run, illustrating his confidence in the offering, especially when it comes to needing to locate a pitch. Righties expecting to see a breaker head toward the opposing batter’s box can get surprised when a cutter just catches the outside edge.

Control: Rhett Lowder, RHP, Reds (65)

Lowder (34.1 percent) received the most votes for Best Pitchability in MLB Pipeline’s Executive Prospect Poll. The 2023 seventh overall pick walked only 5.4 percent of his batters faced in 108 2/3 innings across three Minor League levels in his first full season, and while he wasn’t as consistent with limiting walks during his six Major League starts, his history of improvement over time should help him iron that out. The ability to pump strikes and work on the fine edges of the zone could keep Lowder in Cincinnati’s rotation for a long time.

Other 65-grade control: Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies