We’re a few month and a half into the minor league season, an inexpensive time for a High 100 replace, albeit one with a comparatively mild contact. The aim of this replace is to pluck the low-hanging fruit, to shine and reshape the record somewhat than tear down the one from February. A lot of the nation is chilly or wet in April and early Might, and it may possibly take time for gamers (hitters particularly) to get going. Younger gamers are additionally altering on a regular basis, which frequently consists of changes to their first style of failure.
You’ll be able to see the up to date record in its entirety right here. Beneath, I’ve highlighted some particular person gamers. I contact on how everybody who’s a 60 FV prospect or higher has carried out to date this 12 months, in addition to which gamers have moved up the record in a significant manner. There are a lot of circumstances during which the order of the record modified however the participant’s total grade and analysis didn’t. If a pitcher is damage and slid to the again of their FV tier (as with River Ryan, Ricky Tiedemann, Kyle Harm and Chase Hampton), or if guys are stacked otherwise as a consequence of syllogistic reasoning (equivalent to former back-of-the-list starter Christian Scott racing previous related abilities who’re in, say, Double-A), then I don’t handle that particular person transfer.
How Does Every High Prospect Look?
Jackson Holliday, SS, Baltimore Orioles
You’re most likely accustomed to the sequence of Holliday’s 2024. He and your entire Norfolk lineup started the season on a collective tear whereas the Orioles have been getting little manufacturing from second base. Holliday was promoted, hit .059 throughout a two-week massive league trial, was despatched again down, and has solely kind of bounced again. Holliday’s spray chart has shifted away from his pull facet and moved towards left area and the third final analysis. For a lot of the final three weeks following his demotion, he’s been inside-outing plenty of contact the other manner, together with pitches on the internal third of the plate that he sometimes activates. He’s swinging with a ton of effort and imprecision proper now. The way in which Holliday’s physique unwinds all through his swing continues to be very thrilling and athletic, however he could must make an adjustment that simplifies issues so he might be on time extra persistently. Bryce Harper’s swing is perhaps a great template. These early hiccups aren’t cause sufficient to come back off of Holliday’s high prospect analysis.
Wyatt Langford, OF, Texas Rangers
Langford went on a god-like Cactus League tear, broke camp as a heart-of-the-order hitter on the defending champions’ Opening Day roster, after which didn’t hit for energy throughout a month of massive league at-bats earlier than he was shelved with a hamstring harm. Langford’s high quality of contact was higher than his surface-level slash line, and the issues that made him the no. 2 total prospect earlier than the season began (big instruments and plate protection) have been nonetheless evident. He hit quite a lot of balls simply shy of the wall in April. I nonetheless count on him to be an offensive star upon his return, and possibly fairly rapidly.
James Wooden, OF, Washington Nationals
Wooden, who entered the season as our fifth total prospect, has reduce his strikeout price considerably early this 12 months. Getting into the season, it had been up round 30% since he was traded to Washington, but it surely’s a rock stable 19.1% to date in 2024, and Wooden is attending to a lot energy that he has an OPS over 1.000 as of this writing. Wooden’s wrists are remarkably fast and he has unusual bat management for a hitter his dimension. For such an enormous man, the holes in his swing are comparatively small, largely up round his fingers proper now. It’s possible that massive league velocity will sneak previous him extra typically (the typical Triple-A fastball is 91-92 mph to date in 2024), however the ceiling on Wooden’s energy is as massive as anybody within the minors and he’s rising collective confidence in his potential to get to it. His rating on the preseason High 100 was already very aggressive, however Wooden’s grade has been boosted.
Paul Skenes, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
I wrote a protracted Skenes replace right here. From an FV grade standpoint, his new splitter/sinker and elevated changeup utilization and really feel are significant developments, sufficient for Skenes to maneuver up a FV tier into rarified air for a pitching prospect. Listed below are the pitchers who I’ve ever 65’d or higher: Alex Reyes, Shohei Ohtani, MacKenzie Gore, Eury Pérez, Grayson Rodriguez, and now, Skenes.
Jackson Chourio, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
It turned a digital lock that Chourio would break camp with the massive league group when he signed a contract extension this winter. In his offseason scouting report, I wrote about how the size of Chourio’s swing would possibly make it powerful for him to catch as much as massive league velocity, and that has to date been the case, as he’s acquired an OPS near .600 towards fastballs 93 mph and above, towards which he principally has no pull-side airborne contact. He has sufficient energy to be harmful to the other area and his protection goes to provide his offensive manufacturing fairly a little bit of margin for error, so whereas Chourio isn’t off to an incredible begin, he’s nonetheless a brilliant proficient 20-year-old who must be an impression participant over time.
Jackson Merrill, SS, San Diego Padres
I wrote about Merrill’s transition to heart area and its impression on his prospectdom right here. Briefly, he appears to be like like he’s going to stay on the market and that’s a giant deal.
Jordan Lawlar, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks
In late March, Lawlar suffered a torn UCL in his thumb that required surgical procedure and, based on the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro, was to maintain him out for at the very least all of April and Might. Lawlar is rehabbing in Arizona and making frequent cameos at Chase Discipline.
Junior Caminero, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays
Caminero is hitting effectively (he has an OPS north of .900 as a 20-year-old at Triple-A as of this writing) and included on this replace is a extra bullish forecast for his protection. It’s nonetheless believable at his dimension that he’ll ultimately want to maneuver to the outfield, however for now, what Caminero lacks in fingers he makes up for with a lightning quick change and plus arm. The issues about his swing that I outlined in his full scouting report are nonetheless current, however he continues to carry out in a superlative manner regardless of them.
Samuel Basallo, C, Baltimore Orioles
Basallo has a barely below-average wRC+ to date in 2024, however he’s a 19-year-old catcher at Double-A, in order that’s high-quality. He appears to be like good behind the plate (his receiving has improved, and his arm continues to be nice), however he’s extra typically enjoying first base and DH’ing than he’s catching. Particularly along with his offense slowing down considerably, I feel it is sensible for the Orioles to revisit give attention to the catching place. He’s going to have monumental energy at maturity and has uncommon ceiling for a catcher, and there isn’t an instantaneous want on offense on the massive league degree. It’s doable this isn’t a sign that the Orioles are successfully shifting on from Basallo as a catcher and as a substitute are simply making an attempt to protect his physique with a lighter load. If I assumed Bassallo was going to maneuver off of catcher fully, I’d slide him into the 55 FV tier of the record, proper across the nook thumpers like org-mate Coby Mayo.
Dylan Crews, CF, Washington Nationals
Right here we’ve got one other upper-echelon prospect whose pre-existing swing points have been uncovered and are going to drive an adjustment. I wrote in Crews’ High 100 blurb from the offseason that he’s typically late towards fastballs and actually solely in a position to pull softer stuff on the internal third with any form of energy. This has been a difficulty within the early portion of 2024, as he’s hanging out almost 30% of the time whereas attending to sufficient of his energy to be productive anyway. He and the Nationals must discover a manner for him to cowl the internal half of the zone.
Ethan Salas, C, San Diego Padres
Salas, who turns 18 at first of June, is struggling to hit at Excessive-A Fort Wayne. It’s widespread for hitters to battle through the frigid first month of the Midwest League, and there’s little or no precedent for a prospect this younger being at Excessive-A. Salas continues to be an extremely superior defender for his age and he can transfer the barrel across the zone. He isn’t making flush contact proper now and he’s swinging by means of a ton of excessive fastballs, however he’s additionally making contact with lots of them. It’s too early to maneuver off him in any respect.
Andrew Painter, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies
Painter entered 2023 spring coaching trying like he would possibly break camp within the Phillies rotation and provides the then-defending NL champs one other high-end starter. He started to have elbow points earlier than the common season and the Phillies took a comparatively conservative strategy to his rehab within the hopes he’d reply to a PRP injection and be capable to pitch sooner or later final 12 months. It didn’t work and he had TJ at a time that can possible price him all of 2024. He seemed like a possible top-of-the-rotation starter on the finish of 2022.
Transferring Up
Xavier Isaac, 1B, Tampa Bay Rays
Issac’s rotational explosion for a hitter his dimension could be very particular, and whereas he’s going to swing and miss at an elevated price, he additionally has ridiculous energy all around the strike zone. He’s drastically overhauled his conditioning since he was drafted and appears like a future middle-of-the-order anchor. He has a 150 wRC+ at Excessive-A Bowling Inexperienced as of this replace, and when it comes to hard-hit price and peak exit velocities, Isaac is performing on the very high of the size. For those who’re in a dynasty league or acquire prospect’s playing cards, you’ll want to get this man now, as a result of if he continues on this tempo towards Double-A pitching within the second half of the 12 months, he’s going to complete the season as a high 5 or 10 total prospect. Tip of the hat to the Rays, who drafted Isaac though he wasn’t a well-known showcase prospect. The decide was initially met with confusion, even derision, however just like the Evan Carter Rangers decide, it appears to be like prefer it’s going to have a significant impression on this franchise though Isaac continues to be obscure sufficient that the picture service we use for header artwork doesn’t actually have a image of him in its database but.
Marcelo Mayer, SS, Boston Crimson Sox
Talking of adjustments in conditioning, Mayer appears to be like extra svelte than final 12 months, his vary on protection is best, and he’s modified the best way he throws, now eliminating the baseball as rapidly as doable even when it means throwing three- and four-hoppers to first base. I’m nonetheless apprehensive about his potential to contact delicate stuff within the backside of the strike zone, however he’s raised his probabilities of staying at brief. His FV grade hasn’t modified, however he’s moved up sufficient that I needed to say it.
Transferring In
Aidan Miller, SS/3B, Philadelphia Phillies
It’s positively essential to maintain Miller’s efficiency in context. He was an older highschool decide and he’s nearly to show 20, which is a little bit outdated for Low-A. He additionally shares swing components that make me scared of eventual swing-and-miss, which you’ll be able to examine in his report. However to date, none of these points have manifested in Clearwater, Miller has a 90% in-zone contact price, and he isn’t displaying any vulnerability to fastballs on the high of the zone. You can too watch Miller swing and be reminded of Nico Hoerner, and it’s believable Miller may find yourself with an analogous profile, albeit one with extra energy.
Josue De Paula, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
De Paula was ignored of the High 100 through the offseason as a result of I needed to see him truly hit for energy (he’s a nook defender, in any case), which has began to occur. He didn’t have a house run till a couple of days earlier than this replace, however his underlying exit velos have been sensational. His 94 mph common exit velo to date this season is elite, up eight ticks from final 12 months, whereas his 114 mph max is up 4.
Andy Pages, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
One other man who remade his physique through the offseason, Pages had season-ending shoulder surgical procedure in 2023 and got here again this 12 months with a completely totally different physique and degree of athleticism. He’s swinging with extra athletic verve than ever earlier than (he was a High 100 man earlier than his harm), and it raises the ceiling on his protection to have higher velocity.
Cade Povich, LHP, Baltimore Orioles
Povich was left off the offseason High 100 as a result of I assumed that at his degree of velocity, he’d want higher command than he has for his fastball to play. He appears to have leveled up on this regard and is having a greater go of Triple-A than he did final 12 months.
Others Who Obtained Consideration
Owen Murphy, RHP, Atlanta Braves
Murphy was a Decide to Click on and he’s off to a incredible begin at Excessive-A Rome, however he hasn’t but proven a persistently good slider. His vertical fastball and curveball combo could be very promising by itself, and Murphy’s arm motion is the kind typically well-suited for changeup growth, however he and the Braves appear targeted on growing that slider proper now, and it’s nonetheless solely okay.
Jacob Melton, OF, Houston Astros
Melton’s swinging strike price is surprisingly low contemplating what I anticipated of him popping out of Oregon State. His head continues to be flying round quite a bit all through his swing and he tends to spray quite a lot of contact to the other area. I’m simply not snug projecting that that is the offensive ability set of an on a regular basis outfielder.
Joey Loperfido, 1B, Houston Astros
Lopefrido was on a homer-hitting tear at Triple-A Sugarland previous to his massive league promotion, however he was additionally hanging out 30% of the time. Final record cycle’s grade nonetheless feels sufficiently excessive on him. He’s a high-quality nook function participant greater than he’s a real on a regular basis participant.
Lazaro Montes, OF, Seattle Mariners
Montes is a huge outfield prospect who has a ridiculous Cal League slash line to date this 12 months. Surprisingly, his hard-hit price has been a comparatively modest 30% to date, whereas his contact charges (in-zone and out) are hovering within the 70-74% vary, which is comfortably beneath the massive league common. There’s certainly massive power-hitting ceiling right here, however I’m not snug projecting the long-term offensive success wanted for him to be an impression participant on the positions Montes will be capable to play.
Brandon Younger, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
Younger has had a little bit velocity bump and has been totally dominant at Double-A Bowie. His fastball has all the time had massive vertical break, however now it’s extra typically 93-94 mph, up from 91-92. He has a well-defined four-pitch combine and plus command, although solely his changeup is producing a plus price of swing-and-miss and Younger locates that pitch within the zone way more typically than is typical of a giant league pitcher. He’s a near-ready starter however let’s see him maintain the velo bump all 12 months earlier than contemplating him a mid-rotation prospect.
Luke Keaschall, 2B/CF, Minnesota Twins
As we strategy work on the Twins record from high to backside, we checked on Keaschall, who has performed nothing however rake since getting into professional ball, albeit in a comparatively small pattern. He’s proven really feel for the zone, bat management, and modest energy. Keaschall has by no means been an excellent infield defender and the Twins have been experimenting with him in heart area. He’s very a lot nonetheless studying to play on the market.
Rubel Cespedes, 3B, Minnesota Twins
Cespedes is a possible plus third base defender with a 70 arm, able to hosing guys from deep within the nook. His swing is much like Cam Collier’s and draft prospect Bryce Rainer’s — there’s massive bat velocity and low-ball elevate however actual vulnerability on the high of the strike zone.
