Despite the fact that a 23-year-old playing at Triple-A is significantly closer to reaching the big leagues than a 17-year-old just starting his pro career in rookie ball, the term "prospect" is generally used as a catch-all that lumps all up-and-comers into the same category.
While raw tools and long-term upside are always part of the deal with prospects, those start to take a back seat to on-field production the higher a prospect climbs the organizational ladder.
Ahead, we've highlighted each MLB team's top prospect at each level of the minor leagues—Triple-A, Double-A, High-A, Single-A and rookie ball—with the Dominican Summer League and stateside complex leagues all lumped into the "rookie ball" category.