RoboScout’s MLB Prospects With Intriguing April Data

In case you were wondering, fellow Rancho teammate Zyhir Hope’s Statcast data is even more impressive than Perez’s and is fully supportive of his own impressive start.

After another dominant outing, Mets RHP Jonah Tong moves into second spot among pitchers in Low-A, just behind Rays prospect Santiago Suarez. Under the hood, Tong’s four-seamer, slider, and curveball all grade out better than average on our internal Stuff+ model.

I should note that Tong is actually tied in second spot with Phillies RHP George Klassen, who put up another dominant start before being transferred to the Development List—a likely prelude to a promotion to High-A. Facing more college-pitcher-appropriate hitters will be a great test for Klassen, but his five-pitch mix all grade better than average by their metrics and not just based on his results. I expect his impressive start to continue once on the Jersey Shore (where I suspect the batters will be Down To Flail at his arsenal).

High-A

Cam Collier and his six home runs significantly lead the level and his performance is supported by his Statcast data. Interestingly, Collier has improved his quality of contact, but he’s also chasing a bit more. That’s something to watch as he progresses up the levels, though, as a teenager, there is not yet any cause for concern.

Ethan Salas has started slowly and has “fallen” just outside the top five. Looking at the metrics, he has had some trouble making contact and also has been chasing out of the zone at a rate outside his “career” norms. No need to consider this anything more than just a small sample blip, and again speaks to how early it is in the minor league season.

Luke Keaschall, a popular sleeper at Baseball America, ranks No. 3 on the High-A list. He has shown a solid power, speed, and hit tool mix contributing to his 186 wRC+, two home runs and six steals.

From the pitching side of things, Noah Schultz stands head and shoulders above the field (literally and figuratively). RoboScout is quite fond of his sinker-slider mix. Something to keep an eye on? Whether he develops a substantive third pitch to help bridge the vast 33-inch separate in gloveside versus armside run of his two-seam and slider. It’s fair to wonder, though, whether he even needs to given the effectiveness of his current pair. 

With the sad news that Mets righty Calvin Ziegler will undergo Tommy John surgery, Chase Dollander (Rockes), Owen Murphy (Braves), Winston Santos (Rangers), Jaden Hamm (Tigers), and Moises Chace (Orioles) fill out the top of the list.

Double-A

Considering each of their respective wRC+ sit firmly above 200, it should come as no surprise that Emmanuel Rodriguez (Twins), Carson Williams (Rays), Edgar Quero (White Sox), and Matt Shaw (Cubs) are all in the top six at Double-A. The underlying Statcast data is fully supportive of the results, if not even suggesting more to come. Two other catchers join Quero in the top six: Agustin Ramirez (Yankees) and Moises Ballesteros (Cubs). 

Interesting tidbit: Red Sox prospect Roman Anthony, who is in his age-20 season, has the second-highest 90th percentile exit velocity amongst all Double-A bats so far with a scintillating 112 mph (on just over 20 balls in play). He has surpassed his maximum from last year already by just over one mph. He may be selling out for power though, as his contact rate is about 10% worse than last year’s mark.

Let’s also take a peek behind the curtain. In High-A, Rockies arms Sean Sullivan and Chase Dollander are both in the top 10 on the basis of their performance in Spokane. As a reminder, RoboScout does NOT project their future performance as if they will be pitching in Coors. Rather, it anticipates a league-neutral park. In other words, assuming they do not get traded, you need to apply a ‘downgrade’ to their RoboScout ranking. 

All of this is relevant for the top Double-A name: Carson Palmquist (Rockies) whose slider-forward four-pitch mix from the left-side grades well enough on the metrics model to surpass Rays prospect Ian Seymour’s “raw” RoboScore and take the top spot. An interesting name is currently in the No. 2 spot on the High-A rankings. Last year, Brett Kerry (Angels) started off strong but slowly drifted down the RoboScout rankings as the season wore on. This year, he has added one tick on his fastball and two inches of IVB, which has led to a 41.4 K-BB%, the highest mark for any pitcher in Double-A with at least eight innings thrown. We’ll keep our eye on this one.

A final name to mention is Tyler Woessner (Brewers) who has a 35% strikeout rate and a minuscule 3.3% walk rate over 15 innings. Despite a starter’s pitch mix, he has below-average extension and his 94 mph fastball (touching 97 mph) doesn’t have a modern shape. Still, Double-A hitters seem to have trouble dealing with his high-release slot which is over seven inches higher than average. RoboScout isn’t a disbeliever per se, but does knock down his “raw” RoboScore to just outside the top 10.

Triple-A

We went into detail with the top of the Triple-A rankings last week, on account of the extra week of games, and not too much has changed since then, including the formal inclusion of the Statcast data. The biggest change, however, has been James Wood sliding down to sixth on the list, as his contact rate has begun to regress back to his career norms. This is by no means an indictment—the 21-year-old still looks like he is essentially a 20/20 bat and remains a top prospect in the eyes of the robot.

Cardinals prospect Jose Fermin is the most interesting name. The 25-year-old spelled Nolan Arenado in the bigs last year for 21 games. Well this year, the infielder has a strikeout rate of 4.4% while putting up an ISO of .321, with four home runs and five stolen bases (zero times caught stealing). All that means is he is trailing only Jackson Holliday among Triple-A bats with at least 25 plate appearances. Intriguingly, he also looks like a 20/20 bat after 68 plate appearances in Memphis.

In a shocking revelation, Paul Skenes is the top pitcher in Triple-A with a preposterous 57% strikeout rate over 12.2 innings. In seventh spot, per RoboScout, is Tobias Myers (Brewers) who was called up to the majors last week. His hot start in 2024 with the Brewers, after being unfortunately linked to Junior Caminero as the return in the trade between the Guardians and the Rays in 2022, suggests that he could potentially be a productive contributor in the major leagues this season

That’s what RoboScout sees this week. Happy bidding!