In keeper and dynasty leagues there is a huge benefit to identifying and acquiring excellent pitching talent just before they arrive in the major leagues. Certainly, uncovering an impact pitcher for the upcoming season in the spring could be a major step in winning your league. That's what Mound Musings is all about.

I will say, this list is actually getting much more difficult to maintain. There are still plenty of young arms with high ceilings, but it seems like more and more of the blue-chippers are being called to the majors earlier, a fact that has been greatly accelerated with declining innings pitched by the majority of starters. The end result has been an unprecedented rush to the major leagues, and we are left trying to sift through all those kids in an attempt to add the real impact arms, while avoiding the pretenders.

I am considering pitchers who saw fairly regular innings in 2024 "graduates" even though many are still technically prospects. Let's get started:

Put (Keep) These Guys on Your Watch List …

Jackson Jobe (Tigers) – Okay he's not Paul Skenes but he's still a blue-chip prospect. The third overall pick in the 2021 draft, he is just 22-years-old and was just promoted to Triple-A Toledo earlier this month. Looking at his Double-A numbers, he was dominant with a snappy 1.95 ERA. Some analysts have actually been disappointed in his minor league peripherals – mostly an iffy command of the strike zone – but I like his slider and changeup, and hope the strikeout rate increases if his mid 90s four-seamer perks up. The Tigers have quietly collected young guys they hope will become the nucleus of their pitching staff. The Tigers gave him a taste, but my guess is Jobe will start at Triple-A in 2025. He mostly needs to prove he can stay healthy, and if everything comes together, he could make it to Detroit for good in the second half.

Andrew Painter (Phillies) – Let's add another to the list of walking wounded. To be honest, in today's game, if you have any pitching upside at all, and your throwing arm is still more or less attached, you have probably graduated. Painter has been a promising young pitcher since the Phillies took him out of high school in the 2021 draft. Let's see, high school kid, big arm, how long before the arm gives out? The Phillies were hoping he could see Philadelphia fairly soon, but instead he underwent Tommy John surgery, and he missed all of 2023 and 2024. A tall, skinny kid, Painter is extremely rare for his age – he throws a four-pitch mix for strikes. In his brief time at Double-A Reading in 2022, he struck out 37 batters in 28 innings while walking just two. He's still just 21 years old, so once he returns with a brand-new elbow, he should be good to go for a while. He has legitimate ace stuff. We just have to be patient and hope he returns to previous form.

Noah Schultz (White Sox) – Schultz jumps up on the list as he continues to get better with each passing start. Like many young Sox hurlers, he is being handled cautiously, not pitching beyond four innings in any outing. He already has a plus-plus slider and a fastball that might eventually touch triple digits and a decent but still developing changeup. If he's throwing everything for strikes, hitters face the challenge of deciding whether to swing the moment the pitch leaves his hand. Those past decisions accounted for a lot of strikeouts and relatively few walks. He threw strikes but sometimes got too much plate. All in all, it has been a pretty successful season, and with Schultz having just turned 21 in August he will likely continue to mature. Schultz is the definition of a young lefty power pitcher, and the question now is when will he lock in a release point and bring it all together. I look for him to take the next step when and if the Sox get serious.

Kumar Rocker (Rangers) – Few pitchers have seen their stock rise and fall like Rocker. He was selected 10th overall by the Mets in 2021 but didn't sign. He then failed a physical and ended up having shoulder surgery, then pitched in the Frontier League in 2022. He dazzled with his plus-plus fastball and slider – enough that the Rangers took him third overall. He debuted in the Arizona Fall League but appeared "disinterested" with 12 walks in 14 innings, and his stock plummeted. Flash forward to this year where he resurfaced with brief appearances at Double-A and Triple-A where he again looked like a first-round pick (he certainly turned my head). He was called up by Texas and has now made two starts at the MLB level with mixed results.

Jacob Misiorowski (Brewers) – Misiorowski is only 22 years old, and he has already looked at home at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels. He gets the nod here as one of the better prospects on my list even though I haven't seen him as much as some of the others here. The Milwaukee organization typically develops quality young pitching when they get the talent, and this guy looks like a blue-chipper. His numbers at Double-A Biloxi were good; they actually improved a bit in a small sample at Triple-A Nashville. There was even some talk that he could pop up in the Milwaukee pen this month, but I think he needs to hone his command a bit. He's got a power arm with a fastball that teases triple-digits, while his secondary stuff (slider and curve) is still a bit of a work in progress but shows promise. I'm guessing he starts in Triple-A again next spring, but as rapidly as he learns, he could see Milwaukee fairly early in 2025.

Ricky Tiedemann (Blue Jays) – Regular readers know I am certainly not one to give up on exceptional raw talent because of a few setbacks. And, Tiedemann fits that bill. He has arguably some of the best raw stuff of anyone on the list. His arm is what team's dream of, and the Jays had him ticketed on the express before injuries set in. As a 19-year-old, he began 2022 at Low-A, moved to High-A Dunedin then stopped off at Double-A New Hampshire, before missing some time. He spent 2023 between Single-A, Double-A and the injured list, logging just 42 innings because of a shoulder injury. He fairly easily sits mid-90s with his fastball, but his calling card is an MLB-ready (and that could be quite an understatement) changeup. It's spectacular. He still needs to fine tune his command and he needs to prove he can stay healthy, but he has dominating starter upside. Eventually he'll be in Toronto, but Tommy John surgery makes that 2026.

Bubba Chandler (Pirates) – If you think Skenes was the last Pirates big pitching prospect, think again. Chandler has been rocketing through their system and his next stop, maybe next spring, will be Pittsburgh. He just turned 22 and has accumulated a 1.95 ERA with a 0.78 WHIP across his last 13 starts in Double-A and Triple-A. As a prototypical power pitcher (with a plus change-up) his stuff is filthy, making him almost untouchable at times, but he could refine his command just a bit more (he has walked 15 in 39 innings at Indianapolis). Monitor him closely next spring to determine his timeline and initial assignment. If he doesn't break camp with the Pirates, he'll be on board relatively soon. I don't have him quite at Skenes' level, but he has ace stuff.

Travis Sykora (Nationals) – A fairly recent addition to this list, Sykora was drafted out of high school. He spent this, his 20-year-old season, at Single-A Fredericksburg, and he certainly wasn't out of place.  He tossed 85 innings, but the Nationals were being cautious with their prized young hurler as he pitched past the fifth inning in just one start. It should be noted, even though he was working with an innings cap, he still recorded double-digit strikeouts in three different starts. He's a big kid at 6'6" so he looks quite comfortable, but his trademark combo of an upper 90s fastball and a nasty splitter thrown with exceptional extension make him very difficult to pick up. He has pretty good command of the strike-zone for his age and experience level. I was quite impressed. I expect him to jump up to High-A to begin next season, followed by steady progression.

Quinn Mathews (Cardinals) – Every now and then a pitcher jumps up and surprises with his early success. Such is the case with Mathews. The Cardinals took him out of Stanford in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. A solid, but not supposedly spectacular, southpaw, he made his professional debut this year. Initially, he sported a decent repertoire, highlighted by a couple tickets to success – a reliable changeup and a bit of deception. Interestingly, as he has zoomed through the team's minor league system, his velocity has ticked up and he is missing progressively more bats. In fact, he led the minors in strikeouts with 180 in 126 innings. That's pretty impressive. Appearing at four different levels of minor league ball in one season is a huge accomplishment, and while he struggled in a small sample at Triple-A Memphis, I expect to see him in the St. Louis rotation at some point in 2025.

Christian Scott (Mets) – I'll close out the 2025 Kids on Parade list with Scott. He caught my eye in 2023, and after a successful stint at Triple-A Syracuse to begin this season, he was promoted to the big leagues. He didn't look at all out of place, although his performance tailed off a bit, probably related to elbow issues, as the year progressed. He made just nine starts with the Mets before he went on the IL. He is scheduled for Tommy John surgery to include a brace for his elbow that will likely cost him all of the 2025 season. So, we'll add him to the "be patient" list, and hope he comes back strong. 

As you can imagine, there are quite a few other blue-chip prospects who didn't appear in the majors this season or pitched very few innings. Here are just a few other honorable mentions who received consideration (in no special order) for inclusion in the 2025 Parade: Rhett Lowder (Reds), Jairo Iriarte (White Sox), Samuel Aldegheri (Angels), Eric Pardinho (Blue Jays), Cooper Hjerpe (Cardinals) Tink Hence (Cardinals), Yoniel Curet (Rays), Jarlin Susana (/Nationals), Cade Cavalli (Nationals), and Moises Chace (Phillies).

That's a wrap. As always, remember, this year even more than ever before, the Parade is pretty much a living thing, constantly evolving and changing. I want to thank all of my regular readers, and contributors, for participating in the interactive comments and questions section! That is the best part of it for me. This marks the conclusion of my 13th season as a weekly columnist for Rotowire, and I'm already looking forward to pitchers and catchers reporting to camp for Spring Training 2025.

Be well my friends!