Kiley McDaniel's top 100 MLB prospects for 2022

This year's list of the top 100 MLB prospects comes at a time when the status of the 2022 season is in limbo, but not to fear: The minor league season will start on time regardless of if they agree to a new CBA in the majors.

To give further context for the more casual prospect fan, I've added some new categories to simplify some of the lingo and tool grades. First, «type,» which categorizes a player for comparison among other players on the list and other years. I find I tend to round up on certain types (plus tools, plus makeup, middling stats) and round down on others (now velocity, teenaged right-handers) and you probably also have some preferred prospect types of your own.

The second is «reminds me of.» This isn't a true comparison, because most players don't have a one-for-one perfect analog. There's also a lot of uncertainty with prospects, so it's by default looking at the rosier potential outcomes compared to some current MLB players. I'm basically explaining a player's ranking in a handful of simple words by saying they remind me of a current All-Star and have a high-risk every-day player upside, but you can also see why a lower-risk player might rank higher.

Combined, I think that's just enough simple information to make your own conclusions — as a fan, aspiring future GM, fantasy team owner, card collector, etc.

Here is a quick overview on the 20-80 scale used extensively throughout the list and standard across the baseball industry. For the top tier of prospects, I present their tools as 45/60 meaning presently it's a 45 and I project it to be a 60 at maturity. 50 is major league average (which is a really good present tool for a minor leaguer), 55 is above average, 45 is below average, 60 is called plus