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Emmanuel Rodriguez MIN, OF, 19.4 – 1 for 2 with a homer, 2 walks and 0 K’s. Baby Bonds has more walks than strikeouts with a 51/54 K/BB in 45 games at Single-A, and his 1.063 OPS is far and away the best OPS in the FSL (the underrated Gabriel Martinez is 2nd at .883). Rodriguez still doesn’t get nearly the respect he deserves, and is already a Top 100 Prospect for me, checking in at #90 on my Top 350 June Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings that hit my Patreon last week.

Jackson Chourio MIL, OF, 18.3 – Chourio has a legitimate shot to be the next big thing. He’s a tooled up 18-year-old who is beating up on older competition in full season ball, muscling out his 4th homer of the year yesterday. He’s slashing .371/.417/.595 with 4 homers, 3 steals, and a 26.0%/7.9% K%/BB% in 27 games at Single-A.

Logan O’Hoppe PHI, C, 22.3 – O’Hoppe homered for the 3rd time in 4 games at Double-A. He now has 11 homers with a .997 OPS and 15.6%/11.8% K%/BB% in 44 games. The hype has really started to percolate on him. Here’s what I wrote about O’Hoppe in my off-season, February 10th Hitters to Target (Patreon) writeup, “Easily the most underrated catcher in the minors. He’s a lock to stick behind the plate with plus raw power and plus contact rates.” Let the record show that the aforementioned Chourio was also included in that off-season Target Series.

DL Hall BAL, LHP, 23.8 – 5 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, 9/2 K/BB at Triple-A. Isn’t Grayson just the perfect child with his pristine walk rates, diverse pitch mix, and trendy first name, but now he’s out until September with a lat injury, and it’s time for the wild child to take centerstage. Yea, Hall’s control isn’t that great, and yea, he’s not 6’5” 220 pounds, but he’s ready to shine for all of the kids out there who grew up in their sibling’s shadow. And no, I’m definitely not projecting at all!

Cole Henry WASH, RHP, 22.11 – Henry made his Triple-A debut and went 5 IP with 3 hits, 0 ER, and a 3/1 K/BB. He’s 6’4”, 215 pounds with some legitimately filthy stuff. He made Gabriel Moreno and his plus hit tool look silly on a first inning K.

Ezequiel Duran TEX, 2B/SS, 23.0 – I ranked Duran 39th overall in last week’s Top 350 June Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings and wrote, “Quickly becoming one of my favorite prospects with 7 homers, 7 steals, and a 17% K% in 41 games at Double-A. He also passes the “eye test” as he’s an explosive player and the ball explodes off his bat. 6.6% BB% shows he’s still a little too aggressive at the plate.” He has since got the call to the bigs and showed that explosiveness, drilling a 402 foot dinger off a 99.5 MPH Andres Munoz fastball. This dude can be a true difference maker.

Alejandro Kirk TOR, C, 23.7 – The inevitable Kirk breakout has finally arrived with him hitting a 416 foot blast for his 4th homer in 5 games. His underlying numbers are straight elite with a 8.6%/12.3% K%/BB% and a .393 xwOBA. Gabriel Moreno keeps getting more and more blocked.

Brendan Rodgers COL, 2B, 25.10 – 3 for 5 with a double and a homer. Rodgers has been red hot since May began, slashing .344/.380/.566 with 6 homers and a 20/6 K/BB in 30 games. The underlying numbers still aren’t all the great on the season with a 3.5 degree launch angle and .313 xwOBA, but if you’ve been holding strong on Rodgers for the last several years, this is your time.

Alex Kirilloff MIN, 1B/OF, 24.4 – 2 for 5 with 2 homers and now has 4 homers in his last 3 games at Triple-A. The wrist must be feeling A-OK as he’s utterly destroying Triple-A with a 1.050 OPS in 26 games. He’s back on track to become one the top young hit/power combo hitters in the game.

Bryson Stott PHI, SS, 24.8 – Stott is heating up, walloping his 2nd MLB homer and now has a 1.122 OPS in his last 5 games. An 84.1 MPH EV is still horrific, but a 24.3% whiff% and 16.7 degree launch angle is forming a nice foundation if he can keep hitting the ball harder.

Shane Baz TBR, RHP, 22.11 – 10/1 K/BB in 4.1 IP at Triple-A. Ummmm … I think it’s safe to say the rust has been shaken off. I can’t imagine it’s that much longer before he gets recalled.

Jakob Junis SFG, RHP, 29.9 – 6 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 8/2 K/BB vs. Miami. He has a 2.51 ERA in 43 IP, but I’m not sure I’m really buying in. A 23.9% whiff% overall is mediocre and his slider is only putting up a 26.8% whiff%. The sinker sits 91.1 MPH. I trust the 3.96 xERA more, which is still a step forward from where he’s been in his career prior to this year.

Martin Perez TEX, LHP, 31.2 – 6 IP, 7 hits, 2 ER, 7/2 K/BB vs. Seattle. 20.7% K%, 5.9% BB% and 2.6% barrel% are all career bests. This isn’t exactly an in your face breakout, more of a doing a little bit of everything better breakout. My gut says this will be hard to maintain, and I surely wouldn’t want to pay up big for him in a trade, but if I owned him (I don’t) I would be enjoying the hell out of the ride while it lasts.

Mike Trout LAA, OF, 30.10 – 29.4 ft/sec sprint speed is a 5 year high and nearly a career high, and yet he hasn’t attempted a single steal. Even with him absolutely mashing he’s still ranked only 24th on the Razzball Player Rater. That, plus his age, is why I find it hard to rank him over 14th overall on my Top 433 May Dynasty Baseball Rankings.

Spencer Steer MIN, SS, 24.6 – Steer went nuclear yesterday, cracking 3 homers. He now has 6 homers with an 11/6 K/BB in 13 games since getting the call to Triple-A. I see some Alex Bregman in his game and a little Brian Dozier too. Not saying he’ll be as good as those guys, but I’m buying in.

Colin Barber HOU, OF, 21.4 – Barber has quietly been having an excellent season, but it got a whole lot louder after going deep twice yesterday. He has a 17.4%/12.8% K%/BB% with a .956 OPS in 37 games at High-A. He’s ridiculously underrated.

Ian Lewis MIA, 2B, 19.4 – Lewis got a late start to the season, but it didn’t take him long to prove his skills will translate to full season ball. He drilled his 2nd homer of the year and has a .864 OPS with a 18.3% K% and 2 steals in 20 games at Single-A. His stock is rising.

Sal Frelick MIL, OF, 22.2 – Frelick got ahold of his first homer in 19 games since getting called up to Double-A. It’s just his 3rd homer in 41 games on the season, but it comes with 9 steals and a 14.6%/10.8% K%/BB%. I will say I’m a little concerned with how much his value will be tied to stolen bases. He’s been caught 4 times this year, and we’ve seen guys like Nick Madrigal not run at all. If the steal totals are mediocre on the MLB level, the upside really isn’t there.

Noelvi Marte SEA, SS, 20.7 – 2 for 4 with his 5th homer in 46 games at High-A. People are starting to sour on Marte with a mediocre .732 OPS, but I think it’s mostly due to poor HR/FB luck. 24.9%/10.8% K%/BB% with a 40.7% GB% tells me a homer binge is likely coming down the pike. If you’re a rebuilding team, now could be a good time to buy low if he’s sitting on the roster of a contender.

Angel Martinez CLE, 2B/3B/SS, 20.2 – Martinez went 3 for 5 with a double and 2 homers at High-A (3 homers in 34 games). The power is big to see because the plate approach (19.7%/13.6% K%/BB%) and speed (7 steals) are both there, so developing some legitimate power will take him to the next level.

Andres Gimenez CLE, 2B/SS, 23.9 – The power breakout is holding up with Gimenez smacking a 105.9 MPH dinger for his 3rd homer in his last 5 games in the majors. His 89.9 MPH EV is up 3.6 MPH from last year. He feels like he’s been around forever, but he’s only 23 years old, and he’s lightning fast with a 29.3 ft/sec sprint speed. 2.8% BB% isn’t great, but there is very real upside here in a 5×5 BA league especially.

Cal Mitchell PIT, OF, 23.4 – Mitchell rocked his first MLB homer off Zac Gallen. It’s nice to see the above average K rates transferring to the majors with a 18.4% K%, but there doesn’t seem to be much upside here with a 3.5 degree launch angle and 26.2 ft/sec sprint speed. His groundball rates were high at Triple-A too. He’s getting his shot and can certainly be solid, but not sure he’s going to be a difference maker.

Jack Suwinski PIT, OF, 23.10 – Between Mitchell and Suwinski, I think I prefer Suwinski, but it’s close. He went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles at 108.9 and 107.5 MPH. He’s kept the K% in check in the majors with a 25.6% K%, and he has some speed (28.5 ft/sec sprint speed) and some pop (6 homers in 34 games).

Pete Crow-Armstrong CHC, OF, 20.2 – Pete Crow got the call to High-A last week and it didn’t take long for him to get acclimated, cracking his first homer at the level to the deepest part of the ballpark. He has 8 homers in 43 games overall. He never got enough credit for his power potential, and he’s now leaving no doubt there is legitimate juice in his bat. I predicted the power breakout in my off-season Predicting the 2023 Top 50 Dynasty Baseball Prospects (Patreon), but I also predicted that Luis Matos would go 20/20, so it’s a give and take.

Marcus Semien TEX, SS/2B 31.8 – 2 for 5 with a dinger, and now has 3 homers, 4 steals, and a .822 OPS in his last 10 games. We have a pulse.

Cristian Hernandez CHC, SS, 18.6 – Rookie Ball starts today. Can’t wait to start digging for the next group of breakouts.

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Heliot Ramos SFG, OF, 22.6 – Ramos made his MLB debut and immediately put up some grown man exit velocities on a 2 for 3 day. He ripped 2 singles at 107.4 MPH and 100.1 MPH. I don’t know if he can carve out a full time role or stick in the majors long term, but if he keeps hitting he’ll give them no choice but to play him.

Francisco Lindor NYM, SS, 28.4 – The Francisco Lindor comeback tour is coming to a town near you as Lindor stole a bag and homered for his first of the year. He now has a 1.054 OPS in his first 4 games. I was about to crack a joke about the homer being against Erick Fedde, but Fedde actually pitched pretty well otherwise (5 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 5/2 K/BB).

Hunter Greene CIN, RHP, 22.8 – Greene made his MLB debut and went 5 IP with 4 hits, 3 ER, and a 7/2 K/BB vs a very tough Atlanta lineup. His fastball averaged 99.7 MPH with a 32% whiff%, his slider put up a 45% whiff%, and he used his changeup as a legitimate third pitch with a 14% usage rate. This start only gets me more excited.

Wander Franco TBR, SS, 21.1 – Franco collected 3 more hits in 4 AB and is now 6 for 11 on the season, but more importantly, he snagged his first bag. He was already elite without projecting a ton of steals, so if he starts really running, hang on to your hats.

Andrew Vaughn CHW, 1B, 24.0 – Vaughn is cooking with his 2nd dinger of the year and he tacked on a 98.6 MPH single. I think some people were forgetting about how good this guy is.

Maddux Bruns LAD, LHP, 19.10 – 2 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 4/0 K/BB at Single-A. LA took the high risk, high reward Bruns in the late 1st round with the thought they could fix his control problems, and while it’s only 2 innings, looking good so far. He has a mid 90’s fastball and looked like he was throwing both a big loopy curve and a harder slider. Everything was working. If you are in a league where you have to jump on guys really fast, this is a high upside prospect who could fly up lists if the control gains hold.

Bryan Ramos CHW, 3B/2B, 20.1 – Well lookie lookie here, Ramos did it again, this time with an absolute tank out to left center for his 2nd of the year at High-A. He was one of my players to target in my Hitter Targets Part 1 article in February on Patreon. Get in now if you still can.

Seiya Suzuki CHC, OF, 27.7 – I’ve done more than my fair share of patting myself on the back during week 1, but this is one I wish I could have back. I wasn’t low on Suzuki, but I wasn’t high either, and that is looking like a mistake in the early going. He got ahold of his first dinger, and it was no cheapie either, decimating it at 110.9 MPH. He has a 1.288 OPS on the year.

Rowdy Tellez MIL, 1B, 27.0 – Rowdy Rowdy Tellez is starting to bud that breakout that the underlying numbers easily predicted would happen. He drilled a 107.7 MPH, 424 foot homer for his first of the year. He has a 1.357 OPS in the early going.

Michael Kopech CHW, RHP, 25.11 – 4 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 3/2 K/BB. His fastball sat 95.3 MPH, and while this would be a fine place to sit as a starter, there could be more in the tank as he rounds into mid season form. His secondaries lost some spin and MPH too, but they were relatively effective. Kopech didn’t wow, but considering his delayed start to spring and quick ramp up, this wasn’t too bad.

Julio Urias LAD, LHP, 25.8 – 2 IP, 6 hits, 6 ER, 0/2 K/BB. It was a total disaster for Urias with his velocity down 2.7 MPH to 91.4 MPH. All of his pitches got hit up, resulting in a 95.6 MPH EV against. Let’s hope his stuff comes back with time, but there is no getting around it, this was bad.

Art Warren CIN, Closer (for now), 29.1 – Warren nailed down his first save of the year with his 97.6 MPH fastball and plus slider. Lucas Sims should be back soon, and while I was targeting Sims all off-season, it could get hairy if Warren keeps pitching well. They very well might continue to ride the hot hand here.

Jeremy Pena HOU, SS, 24.5 – Pena keeps rolling with a 3 for 5 day, highlighted by a 98.9 MPH double. He’s struck out a bit with 5 K’s in 16 AB, but seeing him hit the ball this hard is more encouraging.

Joshua Mears SDP, OF, 21.1 – Mears went 4 for 8 with 2 homers and 4 K’s in a doubleheader. Homers and strikeouts are Mears’ bread and butter. My bread and butter …  are bread and butter.

Aeverson Arteaga SFG, SS, 19.1 – Arteaga has struggled in his full season debut with 8 K’s in 11 AB, but he got off the schneid yesterday with his first homer of the year. Considering the high strikeout rate from last year, all the K’s aren’t great.

Kahlil Watson MIA, SS, 18.11 – Make it two straight for Watson, and he completely obliterated this one for his 2nd of the year. He was then pulled from the game after 2 AB for slamming his bat on the ground after grounding out. How dare you show any emotion. If you don’t play the game like an emotionless robot, you sit. It’s 1950’s rules in baseball.

Ryne Nelson ARI, RHP, 24.2 – 5 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 7/0 K/BB. The velocity is still way down at 91.9 MPH, but he continues to be effective in spite of that. Even with the great results, I’m not sure I can just ignore the stuff being down. I’m definitely getting a bit concerned.

Steven Kwan CLE, OF, 24.7 – 5 for 5 and is now 8 for 10 on the year with a 0/3 K/BB in the majors. He doesn’t have big power, and he’s not super fast either with a 27.4 ft/sec sprint speed, so while I don’t think he is going to be a fantasy monster, the contact skills are most certainly translating to the majors.

Hudson Haskin BAL, OF, 23.3 – Once, twice, three times a dinger as Haskin pulled the hat trick and went deep 3 times at Double-A. He’s now 7 for 12 on the year. After hitting only 5 homers in 83 games last year, the power surge is great to see.

Nolan Gorman STL, 3B/2B, 21.11 – Gorman came up one short of the hat trick at Triple-A, knocking two homers out, one vs. a lefty and one vs. a righty. He’s struck out 8 times in 17 AB, which has been a problem for him in the past, so hopefully that number comes down.

Jordan Walker STL, 3B, 19.10 – St. Louis pushed Walker to Double-A, and he’s responded by drilling his first homer of the year on a 109 MPH bullet. Almost more importantly, he has a 1/3 K/BB in 11 AB. Arrow continues to point way up.

Elehuris Montero COL, 1B/OF, 23.7 – Montero tore up Triple-A last year, and he’s back at it this year, crushing his 2nd homer in 22 AB. Can’t wait for Colorado to give him full time at bats when he’s 29 years old.

Robert Hassell SDP, OF, 20.7 – Hassell went the opposite way for his first homer of the year at High-A. He’s now 5 for 11 with 2 steals and a 2/2 K/BB. He can be a top 5 prospect by this time next year.

MJ Melendez KCR, C, 23.4/Shea Langeliers ATL, C, 24.5 – Both of these blocked power hitting catchers hit bombs. It was Langeliers’ 3rd and Melendez’ 1st. They’ll crack the majors at some point, but it might not be in a full time role.

Cole Henry WASH, RHP, 22.9 – 3 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 5/1 K/BB at Double-A. The fastball sat in the mid 90’s, his control was strong, and the secondaries were getting whiffs. He’s an exciting pitching prospect who doesn’t get the hype he deserves.

Ty Madden DET, RHP, 22.1 – Madden didn’t want to be outdone by his fellow 2021 1st round pitchers who had strong starts on Saturday, so he went out on Sunday and went 4 IP with 1 hit, 1 ER, and a 6/1 K/BB at High-A. His fastball reached 99 MPH. This year’s entire rookie class has been dominating on every level.

Alex Binelas BOS, 3B, 21.10 – Speaking of the 2021 rookie class, Binelas cracked a monster opposite field homer as he continued his assault on High-A pitching. He’s 5 for 11 with 2 steals and a 3/2 K/BB in 3 games. The power isn’t in question, so the plate approach is what to watch.

Jhailyn Ortiz PHI, OF, 23.5/Rece Hinds CIN, 3B, 21.7 – Two large humans did what large humans tend to do on a baseball field, and that is hit for power as both Ortiz and Hinds hit their first homer of the year. Ortiz’ homer came at Double-A, and Hinds’ came at High-A.

Cody Bellinger LAD, OF/1B, 26.9 – 2 for 3 with a 1/1 K/BB. We have a pulse.

Jo Adell LAA, OF, 23.0 – 0 for 9 with 7/0 K/BB on the season. No pulse.

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By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)