What happened: Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo assessed trade likelihood through a four-round draft before the July 31, 2025 deadline. Every selection came from a contender seeking short-term major-league help.
Why it matters: The exercise captured how contenders valued prospect depth before completed deals reset the market. Its predictions now provide a checkpoint on which roster blocks and deadline needs led to trades.
By the numbers: Across the previous 25 years, an average of 2.5 Top 100 prospects were traded at each deadline. None had changed teams when the forecast was published July 29, 2025.
What to watch: The completed 2025 transaction log shows which projected moves materialized and which prospects stayed put.