Baseball’s top prospects took the field in the 2026 Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Sunday. The American League, managed by Larry Bowa, bested the National League, managed by Shane Victorino, with a 6-1 win in the seven-inning affair, which is MLB’s annual showcase of the next generation of players. The NL still leads the all-time series 4-2-1. The Futures Game used a USA vs. World format from 1999-2018, during which USA had a 13-7 advantage. Sunday’s outcome marked the first time since 2022 that the AL has prevailed.
Now let’s have a look at the prospects who stood out on Sunday.
Jesús Made, Brewers; and Kade Anderson, Mariners
Most evaluators consider Made to be the best prospect in baseball right now, and he fronts a Brewers farm system that’s about as strong, in relative terms, as the big-league team.
Made didn’t turn 19 until May, and this season he’s slashed .276/.347/.442 with 28 extra-base hits and 26 stolen bases in 76 games at Double-A, where he’s the youngest player at the entire level. When you’re facing high–minors competition at age 19 and faring well, you’re a special talent. So it is with Made. He’s got a shed full of tools, and he may well make it to the bigs by age 20.
One of the appeals of the Futures Game is seeing two premium prospects square off, and that happened thanks to Made and Mariners lefty Kade Anderson, who’s in the discussion with Seth Hernandez for best pitching prospect in baseball. The 22-year-old LSU product and No. 3 pick of the 2025 Draft is a fast riser. This season, he’s blown away the Texas League with a 1.36 ERA and 108 strikeouts against just 10 walks in 72 ⅔ innings. He doesn’t boast elite velocity, but Anderson makes plenty of hay with command of a deep repertoire with multiple strong secondaries. We could see him in Seattle before the 2026 season is up.
Speaking of these two, the bottom of the first occasioned an encounter between Made and Anderson. Anderson fed him three straight 95-mph fastballs, and Made won the face-off by dumping a single to right:
FULL AT-BAT: No. 1 pitching prospect vs. No. 1 hitting prospect
Jesús Made won the matchup against Kade Anderson at the @Nike Futures Game! pic.twitter.com/B0XXtK58er
— MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2026
Made’s bat speed is evident to even the untrained eye, and later in the game, he’d register a 106.9 mph ground-out. As for Anderson, he’d work around the Made single for a scoreless opening frame.
Leo De Vries, Athletics
It’s a bit of a shortstop golden age in MLB right now, and that extends to the minors, where premium prospects like Made and De Vries are some of the most promising young talents around. Acquired from the Padres in the Mason Miller trade, the 19-year-old De Vries, like Made a native of the Dominican Republic, has impressed at Double-A this season against a much older peer group. In 75 games for Midland, De Vries has 11 homers, 14 doubles, an .821 OPS, and 31 steals. CBS Sports tabbed him as the No. 7 overall prospect coming into this season, and he hasn’t disappointed.
In the first inning of the Futures Game, De Vries flashed the contact skills and speed on the bases that make him a special prospect:
Leo De Vries creates the 1st run of the @Nike Futures Game ⚡️
MLB’s No. 2 prospect stole two bases after his leadoff single! pic.twitter.com/mF2wTL8pgA
— MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2026
Seth Hernandez, Pirates
The 19-year-old right-hander was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2025 Draft out of Corona High School in California, and he’s emerged as one of the very best pitching prospects in all of baseball. Coming into the season, CBS Sports ranked Hernandez as the No. 52 overall prospect, but that was before he’d even thrown a pitch as a professional. With his first pro season mostly in the books, he’ll be much, much higher on our next rundown.
This season, in 69 combined innings at the Single-A and High-A levels, Hernandez has pitched to a 2.61 ERA with 111 strikeouts against 30 walks. He has four above-average offerings already, and that mix is fronted by an elite fastball that averages in the high 90s. True to form, Hernandez, in his perfect inning of work on Sunday, hit 99 with his fastball on multiple occasions. He’s got a lot of worthy secondaries, and his best may be a changeup that features drop and good armside run, which makes it a classic weapon against the opposite side. Hernandez in the Futures Game used that changeup to earn the swinging strikeout against Royals prospect Blake Mitchell:
Hernandez is in line to be perhaps a top five overall prospect going into 2027.
Nathan Flewelling, C, Rays
Flewelling was limited to one pinch-hitting appearance on Sunday, but suffice it to say he made the most of it:
That sixth-inning home run, which left the bat at 95.1 mph and traveled 365 feet, was the only longball of the game, and it was enough to earn Flewelling Futures Game MVP honors for 2026.
Drafted with a third-round pick out of a Canada high school in 2024, the 19-year–old Flewelling is enjoying a breakout season in the High-A Sally League this year. In 73 games, he has a slash line of .261/.394/.496 with 16 home runs and 55 walks. He has a broad base of offensive skills and the defensive chops to stick behind the plate. Power and patience from a lefty-hitting catcher is hard to come by, and Flewelling hinted at his promise on Sunday.
