In the midst of a day filled with MLB action, the league’s top prospects took the field in Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia to show off their talent to a national audience. Despite this being the 27th year of the MLB Futures Game, the game has grown in popularity and exposure over the last few years. The seven-inning contest features talent from every Major League organization and nearly 40 players on the MLB Pipeline Top 100 Prospects list.
Even though some players are top 10 prospects in all of baseball who are putting up big-time numbers at Triple-A, and others are in their first full year of pro ball or not in the league-wide top 100, each prospect was on a level playing field and excited to show their talents to a larger audience.
“At the end of the day, I think the gap between who people consider the best player here and who people consider the worst is so minuscule that you almost wouldn’t notice it,” said Twins outfield prospect Walker Jenkins, who’s the 13th-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. “Every person here has earned it, and there’s a reason they’re here because they are probably going to be a really good big leaguer someday. And man, it’s just so cool to be around them.”
Jenkins started the game in centerfield for the American League team and went 0-for-2 with two walks and a run scored. The 21-year-old is currently hitting .306 with five home runs, 16 RBI, 29 runs scored, and seven steals in 42 games for Triple-A St. Paul. There’s a real chance he could be the first player from this game to be promoted to the big leagues. As of now, 25 players from last year’s game have already made their MLB debut.
Two of the most high-profile prospects were involved in the American League’s first run.
Athletics infield prospect Leo De Vries, the 2nd-ranked prospect in baseball and the headliner of the Mason Miller trade from last season, singled in the first inning and stole second and third base. That put him in a position to score on an RBI groundout from Red Sox shortstop prospect Franklin Arias, who’s the 7th-ranked prospect in baseball. De Vries would finish 1-for-2 on the day, while Arias finished 0-for-2 but had the one RBI.
The National League then tied the game on an RBI groundout by the game’s top prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, Brewers’ INF Jesus Made, who would finish the game 1-for-3 with an RBI. Before Rays outfielder Theo Gillen, the 9th-ranked prospect in baseball, had an RBI single in the fifth inning.
The game sat 2-1 entering the final two innings, and most of the damage had been done by the game’s top ten prospects. Yet, the game’s biggest hit came from a player still in High-A when Tampa Bay Rays catching prospect Nathan Flewelling (72nd-ranked prospect) hit a pinch-hit two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to expand the American League’s lead to 4-1.
“Obviously, he had just walked a guy, so I knew he was going to try to be aggressive,” said Flewelling after the game. “I was looking first pitch heater, down in the zone, and that’s where I got it. The rest is history.”
That history involved Flewelling being named the 2026 Futures Game MVP. “It was a complete honor to be here amongst some really talented players. It was just a pretty surreal moment being able to do that,” he reflected. The 19-year-old is hitting .261/.394/.496 at High-A Bowling Green with 16 home runs, 47 RBI, and six steals on the season.
With the game still within reach in the seventh – and last – inning, the American League worked to put the contest away. Astros outfield prospect Kevin Alvarez, the youngest player in the game and the 67th-ranked prospect in the league, started the inning by being hit by a pitch and was eventually driven in on a double by Blue Jays’ infielder JoJo Parker (27th-ranked prospect). One batter later, Guardians first base prospect Ralphy Velazquez (37th-ranked prospect) laced a line drive the opposite way to drive in the sixth run.
“This is my second time being invited to the features game, and it’s a blessing for sure,” said Velazquez before the game. “My family gets to come out and visit me, and I get to play baseball at a big league stadium, so it’s awesome.”
Those six runs proved to be more than enough for this impressive American League pitching staff.
American League manager Larry Bowa started the game with Mariners left-hander Kade Anderson, who is the fifth-ranked prospect and top-ranked pitching prospect in baseball, and has a Minor League-leading 1.36 ERA and 0.69 WHIP for Double-A Arkansas. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity and excited to get out there,” said Anderson before the game. He then went on to allow just one hit in a scoreless first inning.
He was then followed by a scoreless inning from Rangers’ prospect Caden Scarborough (63rd-ranked prospect) before the National League manufactured a run off of Blue Jays’ Double-A prospect Nolan Perry (96th-ranked prospect). The American League then had five more pitchers combine for four shutout innings to close out the game.
For their part, the National League pitchers may have been more overpowering, striking out nine batters on the day compared to just three for the American League. They just had a few more hiccups.
National League manager Shane Victorino started with Phillies’ prospect Gage Wood (51st-ranked overall), who has a 3.44 ERA in 16 starts split between Single-A Clearwater and Double-A Reading. After the American League manufactured that first inning run against Wood, the National League rebounded with three scoreless innings pitched by Pirates prospect Seth Hernandez, the 6th-ranked prospect, who struck out two, Braves prospect Cam Caminiti (43rd-ranked prospct and cousin of former MVP Ken Caminiti), who struck out one, and Cardinals pitching prospect Liam Doyle (22nd-ranked prospect), who walked two but also struck out two to keep the American League off the board.
The American League would go on to score off of four of the next five pitchers in the game for the National League before the game finished with a light-hearted seventh inning when the American League, in an effort to get everybody into the game, used three different pitchers to get the final three outs even though Orioles left-hander Joseph Dzierwa (100th-ranked prospect), Yankees right-hander Ben Grable, and Angels right-hander Tyler Bremner (44th-ranked prospect) each needed just two pitches to record their out.
At the end of the day, the laughter and smiles on the mound during a pitching change in that moment are what this game is all about. The best young players in the game are not only being recognized as the potential future of Major League Baseball, but also get to show their talents on an MLB field in front of a national audience that may otherwise not know much about them. Maybe next year they’ll get to do so without a full slate of MLB games being shown at the same time.
In the meantime, they’ll continue to relish the experience and what it might mean for their MLB future.
“I just wanted to learn from everybody,” said Flewelling as he sat with his MVP trophy. “There’s such great talent here, and I wanted to take a piece from everybody and better myself, and gain the experience so hopefully when the day comes it’s smooth sailing.”
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