10 MLB Hitting Prospects With Standout Data In 2024
Image credit: Dodgers C Dalton Rushing (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos)
As the 2024 minor league season winds down, we now find ourselves at a point where the data in the minor leagues across all levels as started to move from noise to signal. With bigger sample sizes, we can dive into which players are truly performing with strong surface level stats and under-the-hood metrics to match.
Today we’ll examine 10 hitters that have put together outstanding seasons with a promising combination of plate skills (contact and approach) as well as impact metrics to hint at projectable future projection as their careers progress.
Related: These are 15 of the top performing individual pitches across the minors
Each of these players meet a certain threshold of zone contact (20% zone miss of lower), raw power (90th percentile exit velocity above 104 mph) and expected production on contact (.385 xwOBAcon or higher). The range of outcomes for some of the younger players on the list is still quite high, but there’s already some assurance that strong overall offensive skills are present.
Kristian Campbell, 2B/OF, Red Sox
- xwOBAcon: .421
- Zone Miss%: 20%
- Chase: 20.1%
- 90th Percentile EV: 106.6 mph
Plenty has been made about the Red Sox bat speed program and its success for the organization’s hitters in 2024. No player may exemplify this more than Campbell, who has enjoyed an outstanding season and hit his way to Double-A. Over 46 games with Portland, Campbell is hitting .376/.476/.549 with 21 extra-base hits. Campbell combines strong exit velocity data with good angles at contact, a low chase rate and average zone contact. Adding impact to his profile has made Campbell one of the best all-around hitting prospects in the minors in 2024. He looks squarely in the picture for the Red Sox in 2025.
Dalton Rushing, C/OF, Dodgers
- xwOBAcon: .415
- Zone Miss%: 16.4%
- Chase%: 18.1%
- 90th Percentile EV: 106.5 mph
After an injury-plagued 2023, Rushing has gotten back on track in 2024. He hit .270/.378/.512 over 77 games with Double-A Tulsa and earned a recent promotion to Triple-A. Rushing has shown strong exit velocity numbers with good bat angles on contact, which drives his high xwOBAcon. Beyond the power metrics, Rushing has shown strong skills with a low chase rate and low in-zone miss rate. This combination of skills has pushed Rushing’s performance to the top of prospect lists again in 2024.
Josue De Paula, OF, Dodgers
- xwOBAcon: .386
- Zone Miss%: 17.2%
- Chase%: 16.8%
- 90th Percentile EV: 106.3 mph
De Paula’s start in High-A has been rough. He hit just .184/.374/.276 over 27 games with Great Lakes. Despite a rough month and change in the Midwest League, the young Dodgers outfielder’s numbers on the season are still strong. Over 55 games with Low-A Rancho Cucamonga, De Paula hit .279/.388/.447 and earned the promotion to High-A by late June. De Paula has run into some bad luck on balls in play at High-A (.222 BABIP) but he has walked more than he has struck out and has continued to show advanced on-base ability.
He’s showing better angles on contact this year leading to a strong expected wOBA on contact. The combination of above-average bat-to-ball skills and advanced pitch recognition has always been present in De Paula’s profile. He’s now showing an ability to elevate his best contact with a 53% flyball + line drive rate. As De Paula gets his sea legs at High-A, he could develop into the standout hitting prospect many have predicted he would become over the last two years.
Blake Mitchell, C, Royals
- xwOBAcon: .387
- Zone Miss%: 18.4%
- Chase%: 19.9%
- 90th Percentile EV: 106.4 mph
Mitchell showed standout power and on-base skills but worrisome swing-and-miss over the first few months of the season. Since June 1, Mitchell’s game power has ticked down in exchange for some dramatic improvement in contact. After running a 33.3% strikeout rate over the first 42 games of the season he’s cut that to 24.9% in the 45 games since. Under the hood, Mitchell has put together an impressive combination of skills with a low chase rate. The improvement in skills has been a welcomed development for Mitchell, who’s true selling point is his impressive raw power. His 106.4 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and .387 expected wOBA on contact shows a combination of potential for plus game power and good angles on contact. After the Royals took some flack for picking Mitchell No. 8 overall in 2023, it is proving prescient.
Colby Thomas, OF, Athletics
- xwOBAcon: .431
- Zone Miss%: 18.6%
- Chase%: 33.2%
- 90th Percentile EV: 107 mph
While Thomas’ chase rate is high, his aggression hasn’t lead to a tremendous amount of swing-and-miss in 2024. Instead, his aggressive tendencies have served him well. Thomas is a standout all-around player who’s an excellent defender in the outfield with an exciting offensive profile to match. Thomas has hit .290/.354/.583 with 24 home runs over 98 games combined between Double-A and Triple-A. The underlying data backs up his production, even despite hitting in friendly environments. Thomas has an outstanding .431 xwOBAcon with a strong in-zone miss rate and a 90th percentile exit velocity of 107 mph. In a season where there’s been significant development for many of the Athletics young position players in the majors and on the farm, Thomas might be the best story in the organization.
Dillon Dingler, C, Tigers
- xwOBAcon: .453
- Zone Miss%: 14.4%
- Chase%: 25.7%
- 90th Percentile: 105.1 mph
For years, Dingler was billed as a defensive-first catching prospect. He has taken a major step forward with the bat in 2024. Dingler is hitting .308/.379/.559 with 17 home runs and a 20.3% strikeout rate with Triple-A Toledo. He earned his first callup to the major leagues and at 25 years old looks like he might have taken a jump into a well-rounded offensive profile to compliment his strong defensive prowess. He is flashing above-average plate skills with a 14.4% zone miss rate and a 25.7% chase rate. His power and expected outcomes on contact have been excellent. He’s now hitting the ball harder and getting the most out of his best contact. Dingler now looks like he could be a piece of the Tigers long-term plans.
Jimmy Crooks, C, Cardinals
- xwOBAcon: .424
- Zone Miss%: 18.6%
- Chase%: 25.7%
- 90th Percentile EV: 106.6 mph
The Cardinals have been a bit of a catching factory over the last few years, even if none of their top catching prospects have firmly established themselves yet as everyday big leaguers. St. Louis currently has five catchers ranked among its Top 30 Prospects. Cross, their fourth-round pick in 2022, has enjoyed an outstanding season with Double-A Springfield. He has hit .306/.403/.482 with a 21.1% strikeout rate and a 11.7% walk rate. Under the hood, Crooks has shown strong metrics with a low in-zone miss rate, a lower chase rate and outstanding expected outcomes on contact. Crooks has shown above-average power and really good bat angles on his best contact. The Cardinals haven’t found their Yadier Molina replacement yet. Crooks is making a strong case to be considered for the job in the coming years.
Arnaldo Lantigua, OF, Dodgers
- xwOBAcon: .408
- Zone Miss%: 19.1%
- Chase%: 24.9%
- 90th Percentile EV: 105.2 mph
As if we needed more Dodgers on the list, Lantigua’s strong underlying metrics make him an interesting name to follow as he comes stateside in 2025. Signed out of the Dominican Republic for just under $700,000 in January of 2023, Lantigua has put up consecutive successful seasons in the Dominican Summer League. In 2024, Lantigua has hit .288/.421/.584 with 10 home runs over 39 games with the Dodgers DSL Mega squad. Lantigua has combined a lower zone-miss rate with an average chase rate and strong power metrics. While DSL numbers can be taken with a grain of salt, Lantigua has some standout all-around production. He is showing both exit velocity and expected numbers on contact well above the league averages for age and level.
Yahil Melendez, 3B/SS, Cubs
- xwOBAcon: .395
- Zone Miss%: 19.9%
- Chase%: 22.2%
- 90th Percentile EV: 105 mph
Melendez has flown under the radar in the Cubs’ system since they signed him out of Puerto Rico for $400,000 in the seventh round of the 2023 draft. He hit .268/.394/.425 over 53 games in the Arizona Complex League in 2024 and shows a solid balance of plate skills and power. Melendez’s zone contact number is within acceptable range with a lower chase rate. Where he truly excels is his power on contact and strong exit velocity numbers for a teenager. His 105 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and .395 expected wOBA on contact point to an ability to find the barrel consistently and do damage on his best contact. There’s some swing-and-miss concern here and questions about his long-term defensive home, but Melendez lacks hype in the public space at the moment befitting his strong performance on the complex.
Angel Guzman, OF, Giants
- xwOBAcon: .386
- Zone Miss%: 13%
- Chase%: 18.3%
- 90th Percentile EV: 104.4 mph
A low-dollar signing out of the Dominican Republic in January 2023, Guzman has enjoyed an impressive season in the Dominican Summer League in 2024. Selected to the DSL all-star game, Guzman has hit .310/.459/.542 over 41 games for the Giants DSL Black squad. Guzman has nearly an equal number of strikeouts and walks while showing strong overall power numbers. His 104.4 mph 90th percentile exit velocity is plus for age and level and he’s done serious damage on his best contact this season. He’s still learning to elevate the ball consistently but is showing strong ingredients for a player of his age and pedigree. One of the top performers who should come stateside in 2025, Guzman is a name to know.
