Today I'm simply sorting by the PLIVE+ Monthly Change number and hitting on the players who are 0-1% rostered on Fantrax and I haven't covered in a PLIVE+ article yet. Let's see if we can find some deep league players to add! We'll cover 5 hitters and 5 pitchers.

The PLIVE+ tool can be found here:

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Prospects LiveSmada

And my Deep Sea Diving series here:

PLIVE+ Deep Sea Diving - Prospects Live
Prospects LiveSmada

Hitters

Francisco Espinoza, C LAD (Complex)

141 PLIVE+, 37 rise over last month
0% Rostered on Fantrax

Francisco Espinoza hasn't played in a ton of games yet but has put up an extremely loud line to start his state-side career with a robust .460/.541/.683 slash over 74 PA. He's demonstrated excellent bat to ball skills with an 83% Contact rate and just 10.8% K while exhibiting some patience with a 14.9% BB.

The 18 year old is listed at 6'1" 206 lbs and appears to have a strong catcher's build. Espinoza showed similar contact/patience at the plate in the DSL last year, so I'm pretty interested to see how he develops. Definitely a 500+ prospect league add and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see him break into our next fantasy prospect list.

Yeiferth Castillo, OF CLE (Complex)

140 PLIVE+, 23 rise over last month
0% Rostered on Fantrax

Yeiferth Castillo is an 18 yr old left handed bat with a shorter but solid build. He's shown both game power and high contact rates in his short time at the Complex and has been on fire over the last 10 games with 4 HR, 17% BB and 10% K.

Among those players who are still at the complex he ranks 9th in PLIVE+ between two players who have gotten much more hype in Jhonny Level and Hayden Alvarez. Similar to Espinoza above, he's a deep league pick up but someone who could rise quickly... yeah I'm getting in a bid right after finishing this sentence.

Cam Clayton, SS MIA (Single-A)

103 PLIVE+, 21 rise over last month
0% Rostered on Fantrax

When I did my Old For Level Hitters post Cam Clayton didn't have enough PA to qualify, but he would have made the list if it was written today. Clayton is 22 years old a Single-A, but he was also a 2024 14th rounder out of the University of Washington where he was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. He's hit 3 HR over 86 PA at Single-A with running an 11.4% BB and 18.1% K for a 134 wRC+. PLIVE+ isn't all that sold on him given the age to level, but if Clayton gets bumped up to High-A and keeps hitting, then maybe it'll be time to give adding him a second thought.

Jeremiah Jenkins, 1B SF (Single-A)

117 PLIVE+, 21 rise over last month
1% Rostered on Fantrax

Jeremiah Jenkins is another 22 year old in Single-A who was drafted in the 14th round last year, but PLIVE+ likes him a bit more than Clayton. He's 6'4" 238 lbs, a first baseman with an actual power hitter frame. Over the last two college seasons at Maine he hit 43 HR over 479 PA.

Last season Jenkins got 11 games at Single-A for his pro debut and hit 2 HR but showed quite a bit of whiff in the small sample. This season has only played 3 games in Single-A but over 16 Complex games he hit 3 HR with a .370/.470/.685 slash, showing improved bat-to-ball walking more than he struck out.

He was a favorite 2024 late round draft pick for our evaluator Jeff Ellis who had this to say:

The fact Jeremiah Jenkins slid to the 14th round and only got slot still boggles my mind. When I was trying to decide on my favorite late pick I started looking at 90th percentile exit velocities and then trying to find players who weren't a net negative with contact or chase while having elite exit velocity. There were two players, Jackson and Lyle Miller-Green. It was easy to separate the two as there was a three-year age gap between them. With Jenkins having just turned 21 at the start of May and Miller turning 24 in September. Jenkins is a small school player but he did what was needed to perform at a high level, access his power, and not strike out too much. There are reasons for concern. I wish we had seen him in one of the upper-tier summer leagues and that he had not struggled in a lesser one a year ago. Yet power is the most expensive trait to acquire in baseball, and finding a power hitter late with growth potential whose batted ball profile did not have red flags, especially for slot, is a fantastic get for the Giants.

Some are already on Jenkins given he's 1% rostered on Fantrax. The profile isn't all that dissimilar to Victor Figueroa given the frame and history of power against 2nd tier competition. Figueroa just has a year of age on him and more standout performance across the lower-levels this season. In leagues where power is at a premium I'd utilize a churn spot on your roster and hope the improved whiff transitions over to Single-A.

Sam Petersen, OF WSN (High-A)

121 PLIVE+, 16 rise over last month
0% Rostered on Fantrax

Sam Petersen is another 22 year old 2024 draft pick from a small school, but was taken in the 8th round. He's quickly moved his way up to High-A and across 3 levels this season has a .350/.459/.488 slash over 98 PA with 2 HR and 11 SB.

Petersen ended up 230th (exact spot taken) on our final 2024 MLB Draft board. Here's what our team had to say:

It's a solid offensive profile from the right side with natural lift to his swing, allowing him to do damage in the air to the pull-side. It's average power at best, but he's shown an ability to get into it in-game already. He boasts decent swing decisions and doesn't chase a ton, though there is some swing-and-miss to his game. He can handle all three outfield positions, but he profiles best as a left fielder at the next level due to his arm. Petersen has the tools to be a productive fourth outfield type at the major league level.

The profile really matches the seasonal line, the contact rates are not incredibly impressive but he's getting the bat to the ball and collecting his knocks so far. I'm not all that excited to roster Petersen at the moment as he appears to be more of a sum of his parts player without a standout tool. If he continues to keep the K% down, keeps up the average game power and above average SB at Double-A then I'm fine to revisit.

Pitchers

Daviel Hurtado, LHP NYM (Single-A)

86 PLIVE-, 23 drop over last month
0% Rostered on Fantrax

Daviel Hurtado is a 20 year old lefty out of Cuba who was just promoted to Single-A. Over 8 games last season on the he struck out 23 over 15.2 IP but with elevated walks. This season, Hurtado started 5 games on the Complex with 19 IP, 25 K, but just 5 BB. He's given up just 1 ER across all 6 of his outings this season and his debut in relief at Single-A was near perfect with 3 IP, 1 H, and 4 K.

In addition to all that, despite being just 6'1" 166 lbs, Hurtado is already sitting mid-90s and he's generated ground balls at a 62% clip this season. I'm not sure I love the stature and some of the injury risk that comes with it. He's already had Tommy John Surgery which is why he didn't appear in the DSL. But, if he' continues to role in Single-A the Fantrax ownership will rise quickly. If you have a churn spot for a young pitcher, Hurtado is a good choice.

Lucas Elissalt, RHP DET (Single-A)

85 PLIVE-, 14 drop over last month
0% Rostered on Fantrax

A 13th rounder out of JUCO, Lucas Elissalt has dominated over his last 5 starts with 34 K to 3 BB over 23.1 IP while surrendering just 2 ER. It's clear that it's time to get him up a level to get him challenged. Still just 20 years old, PLIVE- has him ranked as the 92nd best SP prospect.

We've got Statcast data at Single-A courtesy of TJ Stats. Elissalt sits 91 mph with the fastball with 18 in of vertical break and throws it half the time. The video below includes his nasty curveball that he works in a quarter of the time. The highest graded pitch (by tjStuff+) is a low spin changeup that he hasn't thrown all that much.

At 6'4" 190 lbs you'd hope the Tigers would be able to unlock some more velo from Elissalt. Given the current fastball it's difficult to buy in right now outside of the deepest leagues.

Dalton Pence, LHP TEX (Single-A)

85 PLIVE-, 14 drop over last month
0% Rostered on Fantrax

Dalton Pence is an 11th rounder out of UNC who was a reliever in college but has been working in 3 IP spurts out of both the bullpen and starting role at Single-A. The results speak for themselves with 50 K to 9 BB over 34.2 IP, though he has given up 5 HR already this year.

Evaluator Harris Yudin took Pence as his favorite late-round pick of the draft (Funny that 2 of the 5 of those picks are in this article):

Sure, this is a bit of a homer pick. But I also have the benefit of seeing Dalton Pence live more than a dozen times over the last two years. The left-hander was easily North Carolina’s best reliever in 2024, and especially showed up in some big moments against LSU, West Virginia and Virginia in the NCAA tournament.

Pence has flashed a quality slider and changeup, but his repertoire is incredibly fastball-heavy. The heater sits in the 92-94 range with excellent carry, and profiles as a real swing-and-miss pitch. He’s clearly a reliever — a limited pitch mix, average-at-best control and no track record of starting in college don’t point to a guy starting in pro ball — but he’s been one of the nation’s best over the last two seasons. An 11th-rounder on a potential big league reliever is a bargain.

While the ultimate landing spot may very will end up the bullpen, it appears that Pence may get the chance to prove himself as a starter. The "average at best control" has been better than that so far with a 6.8% BB, with the caveat he's facing Single-A hitters. Pence is very much someone we need to keep an eye on, because if he starts working past 3 IP appearances with continued success we'll need to jump on him.

McCade Brown, RHP COL (Double-A)

89 PLIVE-, 11 drop over last month
0% Rostered on Fantrax

I almost decided not to cover McCade Brown because he's a Colorado starter, but the performance has been undeniable over the last month+ and he's been promoted to Double-A. Over his last 6 starts he's got 44 K to 8 BB over 26.2 IP. Historically the walks have been an issue but over this stretch he's had an improved 7.6% BB. The 6'6" righty has a cross body delivery with a mid-90s heater and multiple breaking balls. In points leagues I'd be jumping here as he could ascend to Colorado quickly.

Jacob Kroeger, LHP ATL (High-A)

104 PLIVE-, 12 drop over last month
0% Rostered on Fantrax

When we're looking at a PLIVE- over the 100 mark we have to go into it knowing there will be some warts. Right off the bat, Jacob Kroeger is a 25 year old lefty who has made one start in High-A, with his previous 18 appearances across 2024 and 2025 have been at Single-A. Additionally, he's thrown only 2.6 IP/G over his career and was primarily a multi-inning reliever. While PLIVE+ doesn't know the pedigree, that doesn't help either as Kroeger was drafted in the 10th round out of DII Maryville by the Braves last year.

That said on 5/15 Kroeger did something he hadn't done yet, throw 4.1 IP out of the bullpen. He'd only give up one hit, one walk and strike out six. After one last relief appearance, Kroeger was given the green light to start in Single-A. He'd throw 10 innings across 2 starts with 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB and 13 K between them. Kroeger would then be promoted to High-A where he debuted last week throwing 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB and 11 K (!!). If we toss out his first relief appearance of the season where he walked 5 batters, Kroeger has 49 K to just 6 BB in 33.1 IP.

In the limited video I could find, Kroeger hit 93 mph on the broadcast, but outside of that, I don't have much on the arsenal. It's hard not to root for Kroeger, but we definitely need to see more before jumping to add him in dynasty leagues.