Top 20 Starting Pitching Prospects (20-11)
If you’ve ever heard the phrase “there’s no such thing as a pitching prospect”, well, that’s obviously not true, but the spirit behind the meaning is that even the best pitching prospects are incredibly volatile, come with a massive amount of injury risk, and may dominate the minor leagues but never figure out how to be a productive major league pitcher. Using that same logic, it’s important to remember that while these rankings illustrate my confidence level in each one of these pitchers, it could also be that any one of them turn out to be the best of the bunch.
What you’re about to read is a group of excellent pitchers who all have the chance to be a very successful starter on the mound one day. I say that so you don’t get too wrapped up in the rank next to their name. If they’re on the list, it shows how confident I am in their future outlook, and furthermore, there’s a large handful of pitchers that didn’t crack my Top 20 that I also love a lot. With that said, let’s get it going -
20. Brock Porter - Age 20.283 - Rangers
Height: 6’4“ Weight: 208lb Throws: Right
The Rangers pulled a fast one on the rest of the league when they selected Porter in the 4th round in 2022 and then signed him to a well over slot $4M bonus. Everyone had passed on Porter because he had a strong commitment to Clemson out of high school, but the Rangers had a plan going into the draft, and executed it to perfection and secured one of the best arms in the draft.
Playing his first pro season in 2023, Porter flashed his excellent potential. He competed in Low A at age 20 and in 21 starts (69.1 IP), he posted a 2.47 ERA with a massive 32.4% K%. He only gave up 1 HR over the whole season and limited opposing batters to a .160 BA. The issue, however, is that his control was very poor. He walked 14.3% of the hitters he faced and also had a huge disparity between his ERA and xFIP (3.81), suggesting he was a little lucky to get such good results.
The right-hander has an excellent arm, however. He can touch 100 MPH with his fastball and has an excellent change-up that sits in the low-80’s, a huge contrast from his heater. He’s also developed a slider which is turning into an excellent pitch. It’s simply going to come down to how much he can control all of these offerings because the stuff and the movement is there.
In 2024, he’ll likely start his season in High A and probably throw 100-120 innings if he stays healthy. If the results and improvement with control are there, he could get a handful of starts in Double A to close the season. While debuting sometime in 2026 is a much more realistic time frame, Porter could force the Rangers hand for a promotion to the majors in Late 2025 if the results are there.
ETA: Mid 2026 (Late 2025 possible but doubtful)