2025 Bowman: Top 5 Sleepers

As we prepare for 2025 Bowman to release next week (May 7th), many people know the big names in the product, but let's take a look at some players you may not be as familiar with.  These are players who have been having a strong 2025 performance, and who are not in a team's top 5 prospect list or the league-wide Top 100 list. These are listed in no particular order. 

Jhostynxon Garcia (Boston Red Sox)

• International Signee July 2019
  
• Team Prospect Rank: #6
• Position: CF
• Age: 22
• Height/Weight: 6'0" 163lbs
• Current Level: AA

Nicknamed "The Password" due to the complexity of his first name, Garcia is the most well known prospect on this list. Admittedly almost too well-known for this list, but I decided to include him as he really only showed up people's radar toward the end of last year. His 2024 performance earned him two in-season promotions. in 107 games across A, A+, and AA he slashed .286/.356/.892 with 23 home runs. His start to 2025 has been been even better: .323/.451/.913, although he only has 1 HR over 19 games.

On the other side of the ball, according to bloggingtheredsox.com, "[Garcia] has logged 99 errorless innings in center for Portland thus far, recording one outfield assist in the process of doing so. He also has past experience in the corners, with MLB Pipeline grading his field tool as a 50 and his arm tool as a 60 on the 20-80 scouting scale."

Johnathan Long (Chicago Cubs)

• Drafted in 9th round of the 2023 MLB Draft 
  
• Team Prospect Rank: #13
• Position: 1B
• Age: 23
• Height/Weight: 5'11" 210lbs
• Current Level: AAA

A 9th round draft pick in 2023, Long is off to a hot start to his 2025 campaign. Over his first 25 games in AAA, he has slashed .330/.408/.451. While his power is slightly down from last season (only 2 home runs thus far vs 17 last year), his average is up significantly (.284 last season. 

According to northsidebaseball.com, "[Long] checks off every box — he makes a lot of contact, he walks, he has strong exit velocities. He's everything you could want. Importantly, he started to turn his strong EV's into home runs last year in Tennessee, hitting out 17 bombs through 114 games."

Asbel Gonzalez (Kansas City Royals) (NO AUTO)

• International Signee in January 2023 
  
• Team Prospect Rank: #23
• Position: OF
• Age: 19
• Height/Weight: 6'2" 170lbs
• Current Level: A

If I had ranked this list, Gonzalez might have been my #1 sleeper. The numbers that he has put up early in 2025 (A ball) have been impressive. This includes a slash line of .395/.509/.419, 30 stolen bases, and only 8 strike outs over 23 games and 107 PAs. I personally love contact and speed in prospects - it can have big impacts on games even without power (which Gonzalez lacks).

According to his MLB.com profile, "Gonzalez might have the highest ceiling of all of the Royals’ center fielders because of his foundation and projection, but he still has a ways to go in his development. He’d be a prototypical leadoff hitter who can be a weapon on the bases and a defensive asset if he puts it all together." 

Aroon Escobar (Philadelphia Phillies)

• International Signee in January 2022 
  
• Team Prospect Rank: #13
• Position: 2B/3B
• Age: 20
• Height/Weight: 5'10" 180lbs
• Current Level: A

Escobar is Ronald Acuna Jr's cousin and After 19 games at A ball, he is maintaining an OPS >1.000 (.360/.461/.627). Considering he started this season in A-ball, this is an especially impressive feat. Escobar should be due for a mid-season promotion and it will be interesting to see how he handles the better competition in A+. 

According to his MLB.com profile, "When he was healthy, Escobar’s surface numbers (and the underlying data behind them) last year point to a potential breakout. Even when he wasn’t putting up numbers in the DSL, he was showing an advanced approach at the plate, with a lot of walks to go along with minimal swing-and-miss or chase."

Gary Gill Hill (Tampa Bay Rays)

• Drafted in 6th round of the 2022 MLB Draft
  
• Team Prospect Rank: #12
• Position: RHP
• Age: 20
• Height/Weight: 6'2" 160lbs
• Current Level: A+

I tried to avoid putting pitchers on this list, as pitchers tend to hold less value in the hobby, but Gary Gill Hill is hard to ignore. Gill Hill has started 5 games in A+ and currently has an ERA of 1.73 with 20 Ks and only 5 BBs over 26 innings. 

According to his MLB.com profile, "Especially for such a young player -- he turned 20 last September -- Gill Hill displayed impressive control, walking only 2.2 batters per nine innings. Arm slot consistency played a part in that, but he has also shown impressive maturity and intent despite his inexperience."