Poll Question

by John Sickels on Jan 13, 2026 2:30 PM EST

Here's a poll question. I have already made my decision here, but I'm curious how this one would play out among the community.

Of the following Grade B pitching prospects, which one is the best overall prospect? Consider everything, including upside/ceiling, safety, closeness to the majors, etc.

Dellin Betances, RHP, New York Yankees
Daniel Corcino, RHP, Cincinnati Reds
Jarred Cosart, RHP, Houston Astros
Jose Fernandez, RHP, Miami Marlins
Taylor Guerrieri, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays
Robert Stephenson, RHP, Cincinnati Reds
Jordan Swagerty, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals

Poll

Who is the best pitching prospect?

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Read More: Dellin Betances (P - NYY), Jordan Swagerty (P - STL), New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins

Comments

I vote...

Jose Fernandez, but he wasn’t on the poll.

by TheJackass on Jan 13, 2026 2:37 PM EST reply actions

fixed

by John Sickels on Jan 13, 2026 2:43 PM EST up reply actions

I picked Taylor Guerrieri, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays because...

The Rays have a great system in place and Guerrieri has a better chance of fullfilling his potential… the same could be said about Dellin Betances and the Yankees, too!

by Berndaddy on Jan 13, 2026 2:40 PM EST reply actions

isn't Guerrieri

farthest away though?

by ThnkGoodnessforHowieRose on Jan 13, 2026 4:55 PM EST up reply actions

Really, the Yankees have a good development system?

Who was the last pitching prospect they developed who was any good?

by WhyGodWhy on Jan 13, 2026 5:02 PM EST up reply actions

Ian Kennedy

by Boxkutter on Jan 13, 2026 5:47 PM EST up reply actions

Wow, short memory.

I guess you haven’t heard of Ivan Nova. He’s pretty decent.

Also, David Robertson had a great year. Hughes had a bad year, but he won 18 games two years ago. Joba has had his moments before he got hurt. I know his career has also been derailed by injury, but let’s not forget about Wang. He won 19 games two years in a row for the Yanks.

I know you people hate the Yankees, but don’t let that cloud your judgement because then it makes you look like an uneducated baseball fan.

by The Scout on Jan 13, 2026 7:06 PM EST up reply actions

"wins"

by mr. maniac on Jan 13, 2026 8:14 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Wang

Ok WIns mean nothing w/o context. How about….

2005- rookie year-4.20 FIP
2006-3.91 FIP
2007-3.79 FIP
2008-3.74 FIP before season ending injury

Since the injury it was all down hill though.

Still, in addition to Wang the Yanks also developed Hughes and Joba who are far from bust status as well as Kennedy, Robertson, Melancon and Clippard. Pretty much the system took a turn for the better once Cashman took over the minor lge operations in 2005.

by YnksFnSnc78 on Jan 14, 2026 12:32 PM EST up reply actions

'(Wins) mean nothing w/o context'

Wait, people aren’t taking W-L records at face value anymore? When did this happen?

by Matt0330 on Jan 16, 2026 10:02 AM EST up reply actions

+1 on Guerrieri

I think his stuff is close to the others and, while he is far away, I think he has less risk. Now that very well may be because we haven’t seen him pitch 150+ innings yet but neither has Betances or Cosart. I think those are the top 3 guys from this group but feel Guerrieri has a better chance of fulfilling his potential because we haven’t seen his warts yet.

by jfish26101 on Jan 13, 2026 5:36 PM EST up reply actions

Cosart, Guerreri and Betances

are all in a group above the others for me. I’d say it’s a toss-up between Guerreri and Cosart for the best.

The Dodgers won't win a playoff series until the Cool-a-Coo returns.

by mckeeno on Jan 13, 2026 3:05 PM EST reply actions

+1

guerreri excites me the most. i think his upside is a little higher than cosart and probably not too above betances, but betances is looking like he won’t get anywhere close. cosart’s the safe pick, but guerreri’s the sexiest. corcino the underrated dark horse. jordan swagerty? what? how the shit is he even getting votes?

by DeathSpeculum on Jan 15, 2026 11:54 AM EST up reply actions

May I ask how Jordan Swagerty is in this conversation?

Nevertheless actually got 4 votes?

by RynoRooter on Jan 13, 2026 3:15 PM EST reply actions

Side note: I think Corcino's getting pretty underrated here

by RynoRooter on Jan 13, 2026 3:16 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah he is probably 4th for me but I could see the case for as high as second behind Guerrieri though it may look silly to have him first on this list come Aug.

by jfish26101 on Jan 13, 2026 5:38 PM EST up reply actions

Cosart.

I might be biased as an Astros fan, but I think Cosart edges out the other pitchers listed here. Granted, I was a big fan of Cosart even he was in the Phillies’ system. He comes with a few concerns, but he has arguably the best stuff and highest upside of this group.

The bird is struggling out of the egg. The egg is the world. Whoever wants to be born, must first destroy a world.

by Stupendous Man on Jan 13, 2026 3:29 PM EST reply actions

Betances

Came in at #37 on the Community Pitching Prospect List. Looks like Guerrieri is likely going to get in at the back end of the top 50 as well and Cosart has an outside shot too.

by auclairkeithbc on Jan 13, 2026 3:51 PM EST reply actions

I noticed that

So interesting that Cosart is tied here with Betances.

by wobatus on Jan 13, 2026 4:49 PM EST up reply actions

Who knows what these poll results mean

There have been 367 votes as I’m writing this in a little over 2 hours. In 24 hours, we usually get between 50-65 votes in the +1 style poll.

by auclairkeithbc on Jan 13, 2026 4:52 PM EST up reply actions

Yup..the voting is rigged. 4 hours later 656 votes.

SF Giants world,
http://forums.sfgiantsworld.net/giants/

by Calvn n Hobbs on Jan 13, 2026 8:33 PM EST up reply actions

I'd vote for Cosart over Betances simply because I'm concerned with Betances ability to remain a starter

If he does stay a starter and gets his act together, his ceiling is higher, but the odds of him finding that ceiling are pretty slim if you ask me.

by bdlugz on Jan 13, 2026 5:22 PM EST up reply actions

SP vs. RP?

Isn’t Cosart as likely to go to the pen given his arm troubles and lack of consistency with the change? Hasn’t he had shoulder, elbow, and back problems in his relatively short career? I would argue he may have the worst odds of the group to remain a SP.

by jfish26101 on Jan 13, 2026 5:32 PM EST up reply actions

No Reds love at all

Maybe I am a little biased because I know and see the Reds guys more, but I am having a hard time figuring out how four of those guys are “clearly” (based on vote totals) ahead of Corcino. Maybe some just don’t know enough about him, I don’t know.

Cosart really struggled this year to miss bats and throw strikes.
Betances walked a guy every other inning this past season. Still missed plenty of bats though.
Swagerty is relieving.
Then three first rounders without any actual experience as a pro.

Corcino throws 92-94 and touches 97. Above-average breaking ball (he says slider, but more of a power curve IMO), solid change up. Throws lots of strikes. If he were 2 inches taller, people would talk about him a lot more.

Not saying he is the best of the bunch, as I would listen to arguments on Betances for sure given his stuff, size and scouts take on why his control was down some this year compared to 2010 and that it could be fixable. But I think I would easily take Corcino second and argue he should at least be talked about for the best of this group. But he is a distant 5th here.

www.redsminorleagues.com

by dougdirt on Jan 13, 2026 6:17 PM EST reply actions

good arguments here

Corcino is not getting his due.

I will re-run this poll later with a runoff among the top candidates

by John Sickels on Jan 13, 2026 6:22 PM EST up reply actions

Interesting

Corcino simply hasn’t been on my radar (or many others, judging by the poll). I went with Guerrieri, and stand by that, but given the steps back (or at least sideways) by Cosart and Betances this past year, Corcino clearly needs to be in the middle of that conversation.

by gabrielsyme on Jan 13, 2026 7:09 PM EST up reply actions

It's Betances vs. Guerrieri for me

by acerimusdux on Jan 13, 2026 6:33 PM EST reply actions

Me too

Leaning Guerrieri

by PrincetonCubs on Jan 13, 2026 6:33 PM EST up reply actions

I voted Guerrieri

by acerimusdux on Jan 13, 2026 7:14 PM EST up reply actions

+1

by dbreer23 on Jan 14, 2026 12:02 AM EST up reply actions

I honestly have no idea how Betances is in second place, and by a slim margin.

1. Cosart.
Tied for 2: Guerrieri and Stephenson

by mr. maniac on Jan 13, 2026 6:55 PM EST reply actions

It’s mostly the New York hype, I suspect.

The bird is struggling out of the egg. The egg is the world. Whoever wants to be born, must first destroy a world.

by Stupendous Man on Jan 13, 2026 7:12 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Closest to MLB

Betances already has strong numbers through 24 starts in AA. That’s going to earn some respect. The walk rate needs to come down, and I’m worried with his size he’ll always struggle some with the delivery. But he’s probably the surest best in this group.

Cosart has only had a brief taste of AA, but the strikeout rate dropped to only 5.4, and was only 6.6 in A+ ball. He has big upside, but needs to continue to refine the secondaries.

Stephenson was ranked the 25th best draft prospect by BA prior to the draft, was drafted 27th, and hasn’t pitched yet. He’s interesting, but a bit less than most of this group.

Corcino had impressive numbers in low A, but was only ranked 16th best prospect in the league by observers there.

Swagerty was a 2nd round college arm (75th overall) in 2010 who has performed well, but not quite as dominant as some others here.

Jose Fernandez should be up there close, a high draft pick, two potential plus pitches, maybe just a littel behind Guerrieri. But he’s only throw 4.3 pro innings and strugged with his command.

by acerimusdux on Jan 13, 2026 7:45 PM EST up reply actions

Solid numbers, not strong.

He is a solid bet to be a long reliever.

by mr. maniac on Jan 13, 2026 8:15 PM EST up reply actions

better than any of the others mentioned

RA9 h9 hr9 bb9 so9
3.67 7.1 0.2 3.6 10.3 A+
4.21 7.2 0.8 4.4 10.2 AA

Yes the walk rate is a concern, but are any of the other guys mentioned striking out over 10 per nine innings while also maintaining low hit and home run rates? That’s over 100 innings at each level, too.

by acerimusdux on Jan 13, 2026 9:45 PM EST up reply actions

I might take this guy though instead

RA9 h9 hr9 bb9 so9
5.38 7.9 0.5 4.7 9.9 A+
4.41 8.7 1.0 3.6 9.9 AA

That’s not as good as Betances, but he’s also 19 months younger. And there’s so much New York hype he doesn’t even get mentioned.

by acerimusdux on Jan 14, 2026 9:14 AM EST up reply actions

+1

I really don’t know why Stephenson is so far behind. Its really close between the three of these guys.

by sjkqw on Jan 13, 2026 9:58 PM EST up reply actions

Yup

Guerrieri, Stephenson are my top 2. Its nothing short of shocking he’s getting this few votes. I think its mostly that people who are aware how good the prep arms are like Guerrieri a little better so all the informed votes are headed that way.

Then its Corcino, followed by Betances and Cosart (who I think both are better fits in relief). Swagerty isn’t in the discussion for me. Fernandez either, really… but closer than Swagerty.

www.bullpenbanter.com
twitter: @alskor

by alskor on Jan 14, 2026 2:28 PM EST up reply actions

My rankings

Corcino, Cosart, Guerrieri, Betances, Fernandez, Stephenson, Swagerty in that order.

Cosart is easily the higher upside, however I think odds are that Corcino is most likely to reach his ceiling. I like Guerrieri but want to see him in the minors before ranking him above the other two. I question Betances’ ability to remain in the rotation and be effective, so that’s why I have him low. I put Fernandez over Stephenson because Fernandez is the higher ceiling guy, while Stephenson is a bit safer. Swagerty is a whole level below all of the rest of these guys.

by mattp31 on Jan 13, 2026 11:24 PM EST via iPhone app reply actions

For me it was a tough choice between Cosart and Corcino

I went Cosart, but I like your list

expectations are premeditated resentments - cheshirecat

by kcgard2 on Jan 14, 2026 8:53 PM EST up reply actions

The name Dellin Betances always reminds me of Dewon Brazelton.

by Kapellmeisters on Jan 13, 2026 11:25 PM EST reply actions

I voted for Cosart

That may be a homer pick, I don’t know, but looking at him I see a guy who was a top 50 prospect last year and I haven’t seen anything to change the upside which got him there… if anything it sounds like he may have had a slight uptick in velocity. Still plenty of concerns about his floor as he really hasn’t taken the step forward you’d like to see there, but overall I don’t think his stock has dipped very much, if at all.

http://www.crawfishboxes.com

by OremLK on Jan 14, 2026 3:49 AM EST reply actions

Corcino

I went with him. I don’t follow closely enough to know about the guys who haven’t played yet other than pre-draft scouting reports. They are just too far away for me.
But a 20 year old in A ball with high K’s, low BB’s, low HR’s (low FIP, obviously) seems to be underrated because of the lack of love from prospect guru’s.
His 165 lbs scares me, but I took him anyway. I’m partial to low BB guys I guess….

by Boozer10 on Jan 14, 2026 9:18 AM EST reply actions