We’re on the home stretch of the MiLB season y’all.  Enjoy it before TV deals make you hate baseball for a few months. 

MLB

MacKenzie Gore, LHP WSH (MLB) 6 IP, H, ER, BB, 9 K

Gore looked like he was headed for a breakout season in his 11 starts through the first two months of the season when he ran a 22.3% K-BB and a 2.91 ERA, 2.86 FIP and 3.12 xFIP. Then in his next 14 starts Gore was horrendous with an 8.3% K-BB and a 6.18 ERA, 4.31 FIP and 4.92 xFIP. But now over his last three starts, Gore has quality starts with 19 K in 18 IP with just 2 BB. When he’s able to limit the walks he’s just a different pitcher and one that looks really appealing. He’ll likely be labeled a breakout candidate for the 3rd year in a row.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF CHC (MLB) 3-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, K

Stay hot PCA! Since 7/1 he’s hit 7 HR with 11 SB and a .275/.326/.497 slash, 125 wRC+. He’s still hitting a ton better vs. RHP so if you are able to move him out vs LHP in a daily moves league I’d go that route for the time being.

Niko Kavadas, DH LAA (MLB) 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI, K

This is Kavadas’ 2nd HR in 45 PA and most of the rest of them have been outs. Slash sits at .095/.156/.238 with a 46.7% K. About what everyone expected, but have to respect the Angels for at least giving the guy a shot to prove everyone wrong. They’ve done that with Willie Calhoun, Miguel Sano and Keston Hiura already this year and eventually you wonder if they’ll see the trend.

Jackson Merrill, CF SD (MLB) 3-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI

He just keeps doing his thing, if I had to gripe at something, it would be that he hits 6th or 7th everyday. Get the kid more PA please.

Trey Sweeney, SS DET (MLB) 1-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB, K

Sweeny hits out his 2nd, this one vs a good LHP in Yuki Matsui. His first few games he alternated sitting and starting but in the last 10 games he’s played everyday at SS. They’ve been on a string of righty starters so we’ll see if he continues to get protected vs LHP. The initial 47 PA have been fairly meh with a 70 wRC+ but we all know how quickly that can change. I just still don’t expect a ton out of Sweeney.

Lawrence Butler, RF OAK (MLB) 1-for-3, 2B, K

Set an A’s franchise record with 9 straight games with an XBH. Given the long history of the franchise and all the players that have come through the org, it’s incredibly impressive.

Hayden Birdsong, RHP SF (MLB) 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K

It’s been a very rough stretch for Birdsong and it’s not clear that he’ll have a rotation spot entering 2025. I’m still very in on him long-term, but when he’s not finding the zone at all, he’s not usable.

Bowden Francis, RHP TOR (MLB) 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 6 K, 2 HR

Another quality start, this one with a couple of long pulled HR. He’s not elite, but it’s hard not to be excited by this stretch of starts.

Dominic Fletcher, RF-CF CHW (MLB) 1-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI, K

There was a bit of buzz around Fletcher heading into the year after a 120 wRC+ in AAA and 112 wRC+ across 102 PA MLB in 2023. He was moved to the White Sox in the offseason and I think there was an assumption he’d run with a job, or at least earn one. After a rough April, he was sent down until July. His AAA numbers regressed and this was his 1st HR at the major league level in 2024 through 174 PA. His 55 wRC+ is still a bit below average for the White Sox with the team average a league worst 74 wRC+.

Spencer Arrighetti, RHP HOU (MLB) .2 IP, 6 H, 9 ER, 3 BB, HR

Oh no. Horrible timing in the middle of fantasy playoffs and the stretch run of roto leagues. His recent string of games gave everyone, me included, a lot of confidence in him. Sometimes you’ve just got to shake your fist at the fantasy gods. Headed into 2025 though we’ll take any sort of price reduction we can get as I’m still a believer.

Xavier Edwards, SS MIA (MLB) 2-for-5, R, RBI, 2 K

After a neck injury scare, Edwards is back with a walk off hit! I’m starting a redraft best ball league tomorrow and I think I’m likely to get Edwards who seems like a lock for a lot of PA headed into 2025.

Triple-A

Roman Anthony, CF BOS (Triple-A) 2-for-3, R, 2 RBI, BB, K, SB

The debate for who the non-debuted top prospect is interesting for a few reasons but the main one being it feels like there are many possible correct answers.  In his 19 games in Triple-A he has done nothing but build his case why he should be in that discussion. There really isn’t anything to add new, he’s a potential stud for real life and fantasy baseball. 

Trevor Story, SS BOS (Triple-A) 0-for-4

I feel bad, but I had basically forgotten about this man. If you told me 4 years ago he would struggle to be worth 23 mil a year I would have been shocked.  Hopefully he gets right. 


Quinn Priester, SP BOS (Triple-A) 6 IP, 8 K

I, like many, was a big Quinn Priester believer.  This is a really nice start, but every other start - save for 5 IP on 8/16 where he got exactly 1 strikeout - he’s been not great.  I kind of think he, like Matthew Liberatore, can be quite good as a multi-inning arm out of the pen.  There's a valuable real life pitcher here, but until he shows life as a starter or his role changes, I remain out.  Next time you get excited about an arm below Double-A, remember TINSTAAPP.

Mick Abel, SP PHI (Triple-A) 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 5 K

Say it with me,  TiINSTAAPP.  His future will be dictated by his … Abel-ity .. to limit walks. The control is just not gonna cut it right now. 

Bubba Chandler, SP PIT (Triple-A) 5 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 8 K 

Listen, acronyms aside . . . we all have our weak spots. Chandler is in my 2nd tier of pitching prospects. I know what I just said, but I will go down with this ship with my eyes closed. His upside is at minimum a mid-rotational starter, his floor is slowly being raised as his command improves. Could be a wild 4/5, but I dare to dream. 

Nick Yorke, 2B PIT (Triple-A) 3-for-6, 3 2B, 2 R, K
This is the second baseman that will stick.    Right?

Jasson Dominguez, CF NYY (Triple-A) 2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, K, SB 

Mickey Mantle with a combo meal.  No matter what I say, he is doomed to be a disappointment because he was set up for failure. In any other system the excitement would be building rather than stalled. 

Drew Gilbert, CF NYM (Triple-A) 2-for-5, HR, 2 R, RBI

I kind of choose to count this as a lost season.  He’s still safely in my top 100 real life prospects but his status as an impact fantasy prospect is up in the air for me. Health and consistent hitting will be very important next year for this former Volunteer. 

Blade Tidwell, SP NYM (Triple-A) 1.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, K, 2 HR

Yeesh. Triple-A is kind of eating him up.  I’m concerned about this one. Command is trending in the wrong direction and the whiffs are down below 10%.  There is almost no way the homerun rate stays above 20% but he also seems to have found the HR problem again.  Not a ton to like lately. 

Adam Mazur, SP MIA (Triple-A) 2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, K, HR

Offseason project.  Fixing him will be a testament to their pitching dev.  (Notable pitching prospects did not have a great time yesterday).

Davis Wendzel, SS CIN (Triple-A) 2-for-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI

Nice lil blast from the past.  We all know the rules here. 

Jud Fabian, CF BAL (Triple-A) 0-for-4, 4 K 

Pedro Leon, RF HOU (Triple-A) 1-for-5, HR, R, 2 RBI, 4 K 

HA you didn’t fool me this time you inconsistent Quad-A BUM!  (Let me remain bitter, made a sizeable trade with him as a core piece in the return like 3 years ago.)  Will be going into his 27 year old season next year and he hasn’t provided a shred of evidence he can be consistent.  Late bloomer or bust. 

Colton Gordon, SP HOU (Triple-A) 6 IP, 2 H, 7 K 

There's a back-end MLB starter without many whiffs somewhere in here. I am not confident he will have a ton of relevance in leagues where strikeouts are important but he could be useful where you just need solid innings. A further jump in stuff changes the profile, but I wouldn’t expect anything like that. 

Alex Freeland, SS LAD (Triple-A) 0-for-4, 4 K 

Judge him not for what he has done in his third level this season.  There's an MLB role there with a very balanced toolset, but I personally believe his upside is limited to deep leagues where floor is more valuable.  However, what do I know, I’m just a Sheet Boyz sub who doesn’t have an appropriate level of oversight. 

Carl Edwards Jr. SP SDP (Triple-A) 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 10 K 

Carl Edwards Jr. the starter? Interesante.  Not in a “I care about this for fantasy” way, but in a “I feel like we were too busy asking whether we can do this and never asked if we should do this”.  Either way the 33 year old world series winning former(?) closer got 10 Ks. 

Double-A

Dylan Beavers, 3-for-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI

13th and 14th homer of the year. It’s such a nice little swing. He’s shown good contact ability this year and has kept the strikeouts low. PLive+ has him at a 122. The average is 90 points lower this year. He has been putting the ball in the air more. A whopping 24% infield fly ball rate will help keep that average down. I think he could get back closer to where he was last year with the average. Could be looking at a .270, 15-25 type of guy.

Yohandy Morales, 1B WSH (Double-A) 3-for-5

wOBA is on the rise. He has to bring that contact rate up with it. 7% below league average in the zone.

Patrick Reilly, RHP BAL (Double-A) 5 IP, 2 H, BB, 8 K

In his 6th start of Double-A this year, he finally put it together. He had 14 swinging strikes. Reilly attacks you North and South. His pitches don’t have a ton of horizontal movement on them. 10.8 K/9 and 1.17 WHIP make him an arm to watch in Double-A.

Adael Amador, 2B COL (Double-A) 1-for-5, HR, R, RBI, 2 K

Juan Guerrero, RF COL (Double-A) 1-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB, K

Rockies prospects get boosted up in value because people dream on what their offensive numbers could be in that Colorado air. I admit it, I fall into the trap and dream on what could be. I really like Amador and don’t care that his home runs might be in the teens. He makes good contact and has speed. Guerrero is intriguing. Just think about what he could do in Coors! No, really though. His metrics early in Double-A are outstanding. Let’s see how much power develops.

Daniel Susac, C OAK (Double-A) 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI, K

I feel like the A’s have had their “catcher of the future” several times these last 10 years and none of them have stuck. Susac projects as league average on PLive+. Not someone you should be running out to get in fantasy but also maybe you own him as a depth piece when he makes the majors.

Matthew Etzel, RF TB (Double-A) 2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 K

Lots of swing and miss with the new club. 35% strikeout rate. 

Yoniel Curet, RHP TB (Double-A) 6 IP, H, 5 BB, 9 K

He’s been starting to get some buzz among dynasty people. Last 9 innings, 17 strikeouts, 1 hit…but 8 walks.

Jonathan Long, 1B CHC (Double-A) 1-for-3, HR, R, RBI, BB

He will be covered more in-depth in our mailbag episode. I saw a question in the hopper. I’ll give my take. Patient hitter. Good pop. Above average at making contact. Not a lift and pull guy. Tries to hit the ball hard and doesn't care about the direction. Has taken a massive step forward this year. Would have to dig in more defensively but the bat might play in the bigs if this is real. 

Tink Hence, RHP STL (Double-A) 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 8 K

I feel pretty comfortable saying that Tink is back. He was dropping the hammer last night and getting them to swing and miss over it. Very fun pitcher with multiple plus pitches. Need him to stay healthy the rest of the year. If he was on the Brewers, I could see this, but I’d love for him to start in the Majors next year, get to 100 innings and then transition to the pen. 

Brock Wilken, 3B MLW (Double-A) 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI

Two straight games with a home run. Love it even more that there were no strikeouts to accompany it. 

Nathan Martorella, 1B MIA (Double-A) 2-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI, K

The hot streak has now reached a point where I’m moving him up in the rankings and very tempted to pick him up in a league.

Alejandro Osuna, RF TEX (Double-A) 2-for-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, SB

My guy! Mr. extra-base hit! The home run came off a lefty too. Yes, it just snuck out, but I’ll take it. 

Mikey Romero, SS BOS (Double-A) 1-for-3, HR, R, RBI, 2 K

Hey Mikey! Another home run. If I ever have free time again, I’d like to dive in to compare the Red Sox prospect rankings at the end of last year to now. The development of their hitters, especially their top prospects has been so impressive. I want all the pieces of this organization as possible. Their future line up MIGHT rival the World Series one…I said “might”.

Spencer Jones, CF NYY (Double-A) 

Game 1: 2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI, K

Game 2: 0-for-2, BB

He’s getting the bat on the ball more and getting me all excited about him again. The ceiling is so high but the path to get there isn't easy. I’m going along for the ride. 

High-A

Matt Wilkinson, LHP CLE (High-A) 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, BB, 5 K

Wilkinson continues to carry over the success into High-A. The stuff does not blow you away, but it plays up thanks to the release point and solid command. Hard not to see a backend future here if he keeps this up.

Noble Meyer, RHP MIA (High-A) 4.1 IP, H, ER, 3 BB, 7 K

High-A has been a struggle for Meyer, but he has continued to avoid getting hit overall. The command has held him back and he has struggled because of it, but the stuff is still the same. Patience with this young arm.

Blake Burkhalter, RHP ATL (High-A) 7 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Burkhalter has finally put together a healthy season and the results have been there thus far. The fastball is in the mid 90’s consistently and he still has that above average cutter in there as well. His starter profile is going to depend on the changeup development long term, but right now he’s trending up.

Cam Smith, 3B CHC (High-A) 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K

First home run in High-A and Smith has had no struggles at the level. The guy is on fire to start his pro career off. He’s been patient and the plate and makes plenty of contact, and obviously we all know about the power he’s showing off. This guy is trending up and if he keeps this up through the rest of the season the hype will not stop all winter.

Jaden Hamm, RHP DET (High-A) 4 IP, H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Hasn’t walked a batter in his last two outings. He’s approaching 100 innings on the season so the Tigers might be taking it easy with him as far as innings go, but it’s been a great year for Hamm. He’s a borderline T100 guy for me and I think he finds his way onto it this winter.

Omar Alfonzo, C PIT (High-A) 2-for-3, 2B, HR, BB

Nice game for the young backstop here. He has some pretty big whiff concerns and the reports on him behind the plate aren’t great, but the raw power is there for him. If the bat to ball skills improve as he ages a bit more he may be able to stick at first.

Cole Carrigg, CF COL (High-A) 1-for-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 SB

More power for Carrigg and home number 15 on the season. Also with two stolen bags on the night. It’s impossible not to like this guy. 

James Tibbs III, RF SFG (High-A) 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K

First pro home run and given the struggles, it has to feel extra good for Tibbs. He is a much better hitter than this and he’ll get right soon, so just wait it out. 

Single-A 

JJ Wetherholt, SS STL (Single-A) 1-for-4, 2B, R, 3 RBI 

He just keeps on hitting’. Wetherholt will be fine, and with Condon’s struggles, I think Wetherholt has passed him in my mind. I don’t think Wetherholt's ceiling is all that high, but his floor is so much higher.

Eric Bitonti, 1B MIL (Single-A) 3-for-3, R, BB, SB 

Bitonti, the speed merchant? Speed isn’t going to be a big part of his game, but that’s fine—he has the requisite power and contact skills to be a solid first-base prospect. Maybe he can fake it at third early in his career. Who knows, but I am all the way in on Bitonti.

Josue Briceño, 1B DET (Single-A) 2-for-3, R, 3 RBI, BB

He's back to hitting. This year had some highs for Briceño, but then he got injured. Maybe this injury accelerates his move off of catcher and allows him to be a first baseman and just mash. He should catch back up with Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle, and Thayron Liranzo to build out this crazy core they've got going.

Peyton Stovall, 2B CIN (Single-A) 3-for-5, 3B, R, RBI

I loved Stovall as a prep product because he reminded me of a Kevin McGonigle type. Maybe the Reds can get him there and let him become one of those roster-filler second-base types that pop up every year or so—like your Thairo Estrada's. The thing Stovall has going for him is that he could have Great American Ball Park to fall back on and end up with a bit more power than we're expecting. He’s the perfect second-division regular who could get a ton of playing time and turn that into production.

Alec Makarewicz, 1B CWS (Single-A) 2-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI 

Makarewicz's ancestors were really trying to jam all those Scrabble points in there, huh? A homer and a double for the UDFA first baseman.

Gary Gill Hill, RHP TB (Single-A) 4 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, K, 2 HR Allowed

Maybe the last start for Gary the Snail. He has worked his way into our hearts and into my top 100 prospect list. If people haven’t keyed in on him, he’s someone you should immediately pick up. I think you can get him as a secondary piece in a trade. Gary Gill Hill is a Taj Bradley starter kit—unless Taj Bradley hurt you in your playoff matchup, then we can find another pitcher to comp him to.

Hyun-Seok Jang, RHP LAD (Single-A) 2 IP, BB, 3 K 

Pretty crazy that he forwent the KBO draft to come over here, but he is pitching rather well. I didn’t get a chance to see him this season, but from all reports, people are buzzing about him. I’m excited to dig deeper into him this offseason when the Dodgers list comes around.

Barrett Kent, RHP LAA (Single-A) 1.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

This might be his last start of the season, and damn it, he’s the best 6.21 ERA pitcher you might ever see. I like the fastball and breaking ball combo. I don’t roster him, but since he could be up next year—given the way the Angels develop arms—he might have a touch more value for a competitive team.

Walker Martin, SS SF (Single-A) 3-for-5, 3B, 2 RBI

Big-time swing and miss to go with some power and speed. It’s just that the hit tool is absolutely terrifying. If you want to have a glass-half-full approach, Walker is going to take a minute because, unlike most baseball players these days, he played multiple sports in high school. He might be someone who needs to repeat the level, but that should be fine for his development. There is a slight buying window here this offseason.

Tai Peete, LF SEA (Single-A) 2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI

Shoutout to Eric Knowles. I was surprised by how well Tai Peete has been doing on his little heater. I do worry he’s just beating up on really bad pitching, but you can only beat what’s in front of you, I guess. I do despise that he’s playing a corner outfield spot; he’s got the athleticism to play third base and be really good. I’m in on Peete, and maybe he won’t repeat Single-A—he just might be a level-a-year sort of prospect.