It’s time for part two of our honorable mentions, this time covering exclusively the arms that just missed list. As a reminder, next week will mark the beginning of our top twenty and continue biweekly over the course of this spring. Check in every Tuesday and Thursday for more, and please let us know what you think in the comments below!
Michael Morales – RHP
2025 Statistic of Note – 2026 K-BB ratio: 1.89 (2025 at AA: 5.15)
That is not a fun statistic to share about Moose Morales, who ran into a wall on his second tour
through the Texas League. Always a zone controller, that seemed to get away from Morales this year, as he issued as many free passes as he has in his career but with a troubling downtick in strikeouts. Morales remains young, just 23 years old, but in his third year of development, you’d hope to be moving forwards, not back. At this point, it seems like there’s no magical velo bump coming, so Morales will have to find a way to make his below-average fastball work at the big leagues, by throwing it stubbornly at the top of the zone and hoping the rest of the arsenal cooperates. That’s where there’s hope in the profile: his changeup and curve are both swing-and-miss offerings, if he can find them regularly. -KP
Walter Ford – RHP
2025 Statistic of Note – 18% K rate
High school pitchers are the most volatile draft group, and that’s being borne out in Ford’s career so far. He’ll have fantastic outings followed by forgettable ones. The fastball velo hasn’t jumped forward like one might hope, but there’s still swing-and-miss promise in his slider. Unfortunately, the lack of a meaningful heater is capping his ceiling right now; even at 20 years old, Ford should be handling A-ball hitters with a little more authority. He will go through torrid stretches where you can see him putting it all together – he won Pitcher of the Month honors for the organization in June – but needs to close that last step so the forward momentum is constant and consistent. But he’s certainly not the first prep pitcher to struggle to do so; nor will he be the last.
Lucas Kelly – RHP
2025 Statistic of Note – Has not debuted
The Mariners’ sixth rounder from last July’s draft, Lucas Kelly was one of the premiere relief prospects in all of college baseball last season. Featuring a Sewald-ian release point from a 6’4 frame, Kelly achieves ridiculous VAA (Vertical Approach Angle, if you’re unfamiliar, is essentially a measurement of how steeply the pitch is approaching a hitter) metrics and can rush his heater up into the triple digits. Given his flat approach and high octane velocity, Kelly’s fastball eats hitters alive at the top of the zone and should be a plus pitch or better. His breaking ball has two somewhat similar shapes, but his gyro-spin cutter has the potential to be a weapon for him as a professional. The secondaries and command need some refinement, but the raw potential for a leverage reliever is apparent. With some development, Kelly could easily be the best pure relief prospect the M’s have had in a long time.
Danny Macchiarola – RHP
2025 Statistic of Note – Has not debuted
Macchiarola, last year’s 8th rounder out of Holy Cross, didn’t get a ton of fanfare when he joined the organization. The 6’2 180lb right hander had a relatively standard arsenal with solid, if unspectacular numbers at a small school in the Northeast. Considering he’s yet to debut as a professional, what’s changed?
Drawing rave reviews from offseason camp, Macchiarola was mentioned as a standout amongst the other gas campers, seemingly having added a tick on his arsenal as a whole. Possessing the innate ability to manipulate spin on the baseball, Macchiarola looks like he’s got a shot at debuting in pro ball with a complete four pitch mix that’s capable of putting hitters away consistently. He’s shown he can command his pitches consistently; if the velocity truly has taken a step forward, the Mariners may have found themselves another late round gem.
Matt Tiberia – RHP
2025 Statistic of Note – 2.27 ERA
Tiberia was one of the biggest surprises of last year’s minor league season, emerging from the 18th round out of Lynn University to put together a really nice season for the Nuts. The wiry right hander doesn’t have the most overpowering arsenal, but with a nice sinker that touches the mid 90’s, a tight slider, and solid mechanics down the mound, the 6’3 hurler has the look of someone who should continue to be a starter. He did miss some time with injury last season, but now healthy, the right hander should get a shot at starting the season with the Frogs in Everett as a rotation mainstay. If he’s able to replicate the kind of season he had last year, he’ll be all but assured to find his name considerably higher up our list come midseason.
Brock Moore – RHP
2025 Statistic of Note – 12.5 K/9
Moore is undeniably the most volatile pitcher to make this list. Strictly a reliever, Moore’s fastball frequently eclipses 100 mph and is paired with a hellacious two plane breaking ball that strikes out a ton of opposing batters. Throw in a changeup with massive fade and velo separation, and the makings of an elite reliever seem to be ready made. The problem? Borderline 20-grade command. Moore was the owner of a truly astounding 13.5 BB/9 mark last season and has little, if any, idea where any of his offerings are going. He’s a rather good athlete and evaluators have remained bullish on his ability to reign in his arsenal enough to get by, but until that point, he’s a tough watch out on the mound. With the best pure stuff in the system, hopefully the hulking right hander can dial it in and become the lockdown reliever his stuff would indicate he can be.
