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  "description": "Juicy Jensen drops his yearly top 50 DSL performers under 18 years old",
  "path": "/dsl-top-50-202-performers-under-18-2025/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-23T20:01:19.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.prospectslive.com",
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    "Subscribe now"
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  "textContent": "Every year I get to sift through the DSL data to identify what I believe to be the best underlying performers at the level. I keep the list limited to players who were 17 during the season, which includes some of the youngest players to sign in the 2024 class and repeated the level. A reminder that this is a performance driven list, not a pure scouting ranking. Let's get to it!\n\nSebastian Dos Santos\n\n### 1. Sebastian Dos Santos, SS (STL)\n\n**6’0 140 S/R\n$75,000**\n\nThe top performer on the list signed for just $75,000. The Cardinals have done well on this list the last few years and really showed out this year, but Dos Santos flashed the most. Dos Santos has a ton of room to fill out his frame, with an already strong lower half and clean movements. I think it’s reasonable for Dos Santos to add speed, power and arm strength as he grows into his body. Dos Santos is a strong defender from an instincts standpoint, but currently has a fringe arm that plays best at 2B. An average runner, Dos Santos still did damage on the bases due to a strong first step and baseball IQ. If the arm and speed tick up, which is very possible given his frame and being one of the youngest players at the level, he could stick at SS, but 2B is the safest bet now. The in-game power was surprising. Dos Santos is still skinny and high-waisted, and while he put the ball in the air consistently, he didn’t sell out for pull and launch. Dos Santos hit four over the fence last year, but as he grows into his body, that number should tick up. Dos Santos has a strong feel for the zone and above average pure bat-to-ball, but is arguably too passive at the plate, and while he lays off of spin out of zone well, there is some swing and miss on off speed when it’s in zone. That could cause issues as he advances, but we will see. I feel safe projecting average hit, with above average raw power and a likely hood to stick up the middle. That alone gives Dos Santos intrigue as a prospect who could reach top 100 status in the upper levels if things go well, but when you factor in the frame projection and how young he was for the class, Dos Santos is someone who could explode with an athletic tick up. Coming stateside, Dos Santos needs to prove he can handle spin in the zone and attack strikes a bit more, but he will be a circled and highlighted player to watch for an org that has suddenly re-found their success in developing bats.\n\nElian Pena via Mets Player Dev on IG\n\n### 2. Elian Pena, SS (NYM)\n\n**5’10 180 L/R\n$5,000,000**\n\nI found myself lower on Pena than most coming into the year and now find myself higher than most after the year. Is Pena, a SS long-term, no. Is he a 70 grade hitter, no. But man did narratives shift when he started slow after some minor dev changes. Dude was a monster from late June on and easily the best performer at the level from that point on. There is big power here, there is strong bat-to-ball and the loft to make that contact count, there is a really high baseball IQ and weirdly good feel for navigating the base paths. It’s Rafael Devers lite…and honestly…there’s a world where this is just Devers. I think Pena is really undervalued right now. There aren’t as many paths to success as most $5,000,000 teen SS prospects, but the kid can hit and I (still feels weird to say) really trust the Mets player dev to get him to his ceiling.\n\nJohan De Los Santos\n\n### 3. Johan De Los Santos, SS (PIT)\n\n**5’11 165 L/R\n$2,400,000**\n\nListed at 5’11 165, De Los Santos looks closer to 5’8 in reality and his EV data does suggest power won’t be his game. There’s a chance this is just a 30 pop bat and that can make life hard on a prospect…I think I can live with it. It’s kind of a weird set up, with his barrel staying completely straight up with his hands low, but man does it work De Los Santos hits everything he swings at, takes his walks and puts the ball in the air. De Los Santos has a case for true 70 grade hit tool if he can make a slight advance in avoiding weak contact. De Los Santos has flashed genuine 80 grade run times and is a menace on the bases with a real chance to stick at SS long term (with CF as a viable backup, as well as 2B). I think De Los Santos could unlock 40 grade pop with a slight swing change, in which case he could safely be a 60 hit, 40 pop, 70 run SS, which would absolutely justify his lofty signing bonus…but there’s a chance the hit and run tools could even play above that. Power will determine the ceiling, but I think this is a very high floor and very fun prospect to watch with some loud tools.\n\nLuis Arana\n\n### 4. Luis Arana, SS/3B (MIA)\n\n**5’10 155 S/R\n$30,000**\n\nThe analytics community favorite, a miniscule signing bonus bat with some crazy under-the-hood numbers and physical/aesthetic traits that drive traditional scouts crazy. Arana signed for just $30,000 with a smaller frame and a fairly bizarre swing. Arana starts standing completely upright with his legs tight together and a completely quiet upper half, then takes an exaggerated toe tap back even further towards his back leg, then launches his front leg forward and swings his leg away from the plate, almost like a bowling throw mechanically. I have never seen a similar swing. It worked last year, he had some of the best pure bat-to-ball at the level and squared up enough balls to flash some over-the-fence power, but he also generated fairly astounding amounts of weak contact. Arana runs well, but isn’t a plus runner. The feel for the zone is decent, it could work but isn’t special. The power numbers surprised me a bit given below average size and bat speed. Defensively, Arana is more fringe defensively and projects as a super utility type. I find myself a bit skeptical of Arana based on the traditional scouting side of things overriding pure stat line numbers against this level of competition, but if Arana can continue this level of contact as he climbs the ladder, I will start to buy in more.\n\nLate Edit: Some signs of a minor change in set up for Arana in off-season BP with a wider base that looks more natural to me.\n\n### 5. Nauris De La Cruz, CF (WSN)\n\n**6’0 160 L/L\n$500,000**\n\nDe La Cruz quietly had a monster DSL debut last year. The selling point to De La Cruz is a notable bat speed plus pure contact combo. De La Cruz swings hard, makes contact, takes walks and puts the ball in the air. The in-game power was honestly less than expected for a medium-framed player who swings so hard and hit the ball in the air so often, but the track record and potential for above average power is there. The approach and pure bat-to-ball were more of a surprise and De La Cruz really came on as the season wound down, suggesting he may have really taken to coaching. If he really has this kind of contact ability, there is a chance to be a 55 grade hitter with 55 pop. That would play. De La Cruz is an average to a tick below runner who will wind up a corner OF, so he will need to hit, but the ability to only swing at good pitches, swing hard, not miss and put the ball in the air gives him a real chance to emerge as a dude next year. He checks a lot of boxes for an undervalued teen bat right now.\n\n### This post is for subscribers only\n\nBecome a member to get access to all content\n\nSubscribe now",
  "title": "Top 50 DSL Performers Under 18 from 2025",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-23T20:01:19.000Z"
}