15 prospects primed for a bounceback season from injury
A lot of players will be getting a fresh start heading into the 2025 season.
Prospects who missed significant time due to injury have had upwards of six months between regular-season games to return to health. Now they’ll be looking to re-establish their value and maybe even reach new heights.
With that in mind, we’re going to take a look at prospects who missed significant time in 2024 due to injuries and have a chance to bounce back in a big way — or potentially face an injury-prone label.
Here are 10 current Top 100 prospects with something to prove, as well as five bonus players whose health could help them rejoin that list in the coming season.
Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies (MLB No. 8)
Painter was baseball’s top pitching prospect before suffering a right elbow injury in Spring Training 2023 that required Tommy John surgery that July. The 2021 first-rounder returned to the mound in the 2024 Arizona Fall League, where he displayed the premium stuff that has twice made him a global Top 10 prospect. The big question for 2025 will be how slowly the Phillies ease Painter back since the team would surely prefer to pitch him in the stretch run and a potential postseason appearance rather than shut him down after hitting an innings limit in late summer.
