Helium Review: See All Our 2024 Hot Sheet Picks For Sleeper MLB Prospects

Zyhir Hope, OF, Dodgers

What We Said: The Dodgers added Hope and Jackson Ferris in the January trade that shipped Michael Busch to the Cubs. Chicago had drafted Hope out of high school in the 11th round last year and paid him $400,000, the equivalent of fifth-round money. He has outstanding speed and quick hands that helped him crush three early home runs in California League play, including one with a 113 mph exit velocity. The power is real. If Hope hits, he could take off as a prospect.

What Happened: In between stints on the injured list, Hope was one of the better players in the Dodgers’ farm system. The outfielder showed a blend of production, strong analytical traits and future projection. He’ll attempt to build on the roughly half-season of production in the Arizona Fall League.

Landen Maroudis, RHP, Blue Jays

What We Said: Just a few miles down the road from his childhood home and his high school alma mater, Landen Maroudis made his professional debut. The scheduled starter for Sunday’s game Maroudis was moved back to four innings in relief in lieu of an Alek Manoah rehab appearance. With Dunedin down 7-4 Maroudis entered the game in the sixth and quieted the roar of the Lakeland Flying Tigers. Over four perfect innings Maroudis struck out five, touched 96.4 mph and sat 94.5 mph, mixing in a slider at 85 mph and a low-80s curveball. During the spring, Maroudis impressed on the backfields for his combination of present stuff, projection and pitchability. The fourth rounder could be a potential mover this season.

What Happened: Unfortunately, shortly after this writeup, Maroudis suffered an injury that would eventually require elbow surgery. He pitched just 10.2 innings in 2024.

Jonah Tong, RHP, Mets

What We Said: Tong was whispered about as a sleeper in 2023, and in 2024 the Canadian righthander is beginning to wake everyone up. His four-seam fastball has gained a couple of ticks and peaked at 97 mph in his most recent start, which ended with 10 strikeouts over four one-hit innings. He dominated with mostly a four-seamer and a cutter, which accounted for 71 of his 80 pitches, and got 21 whiffs in total. Scouts see a pitcher with a little more projection remaining on his body and a potential big leaguer, albeit with a reliever’s role as a strong possibility.

What Happened: Tong was one of the better performers among Mets pitching prospects, behind elite talents like Brandon Sproat. His 160 strikeouts were the most in New York’s system and tied Dom Hamel for the system’s high-water mark since 2018.

Winston Santos, RHP, Rangers

What We Said: For years, Santos has been an intriguing piece of the Rangers’ system. He had an excellent fastball in the mid 90s, which is always a good start, but didn’t have a reliable offspeed as a complement. His breaking ball was especially lacking. Early this season, that no longer seems to be as much of an issue. Santos has changed the grip on his slider into a gyro version and has seen intriguing results. He struck out a dozen Greensboro hitters in his last start and showed a breaking ball that was far better than its previous iterations. His changeup worked at times as well. All three pitches in concert produced 17 swings and misses over the course of five innings. If he can continue sharpening his offspeeds throughout the summer, he should move up the system’s ranks.

What Happened: Santos finished the year with the second-most strikeouts in the Rangers’ system (138), appeared in the Futures Game and jumped into the Top 10 of Texas’ Top 30 while advancing to Double-A.

Trystan Vrieling, RHP, Yankees

What We Said: The best pitching performance of the season might belong to Vrieling, who pitched 7.2 no-hit innings against a talented Hartford lineup on Friday. Vrieling was drafted by the Yankees in the 2022 draft out of Gonzaga and missed all of 2023 with an elbow fracture. He returned to the mound in the Arizona Fall League but struggled. This spring Vrieling was a helium name on the backfields and was then aggressively assigned to Double-A Somerset with zero affliated innings to his name. Over his first three starts Vrieling’s numbers speak for themselves, he’s 2-0 with a single earned run and five hits allowed over 18.2 innings. Vrieling has showed a solid four pitch mix, with a four seam fastball at 92-94 mph, a mid-to-high-80s cutter, a gyro slider at 84-86 mph, a curveball and changeup. Vrieling’s rapid ascent hints at a early 2025 ETA. The early returns have been excellent as Vrieling is showing starter traits.

What Happened: Vrieling had an up-and-down season, but he finished with 132 strikeouts in 147.1 innings while helping lead Double-A Somerset to the Eastern League Championship Series.

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Matt Wilkinson, LHP, Guardians

What We Said: Wilkinson is arguably the most fascinating prospect in the game right now and his public persona is boarding on the stuff of folk heroes. Affectionately known as ‘Tugboat,’ Wilkinson has a baseball journey that dates back to his time as a standout on a Canadian little league World Series team where he pitched a standout performance in losing effort against Mexico. He ended up at Central Arizona JC where the Guardians selected him in the 10th round of last July’s draft. Wilkinson had arguably the start of the season on Thursday as he struck out 15 batters allowing only one batter to reach via walk over six hitless frames. Wilkinson sits 89-91 mph on his fastball but the pitch plays up due to Wilkinson’s outlier extension (6-foot-6 from a 6-foot-1 frame). His ability to get down the mound creates a lower release height and subsequently a difficult plane for hitters to square up. He mixes a low-80s baby sweeper with a mid-80s changeup with heavy armside run. Whether or not Wilkinson’s dominance will continue at higher levels remains to be seen, but he does have some outlier traits.

What Happened: Scouts are still skeptical about his long-term prognosis, but Wilkinson’s 174 strikeouts were not only the most in the Guardians’ system, they were the second-most in the minor leagues behind only 2024 Minor League Pitcher of the Year Quinn Mathews.

Josh Ekness, RHP, Marlins

What We Said: Miami popped Ekness in the 12th round of the 2023 draft out of Houston, where he transferred after two seasons at Lamar. At both stops the righthander showed a promising combination of high-octane heat and a nasty slider. This year, he’s using that mix to bully Low-A hitters. Over 10 games, Ekness has pitched 13 innings, allowed five hits, walked three and struck out 21. He’s brought his fastball up to 99 mph and has posted respective whiff and strikeout rates of 16.7% and 42%. The latter figure is the second-best in the Marlins’ system among pitchers with more than 10 innings. The caveat here is that hes’s a college arm in Low-A, but the stuff is intriguing enough to make him someone to monitor as a possible quick mover.

What Happened: Ekness dominated the Class A levels, striking out 76 hitters in 62 innings while allowing 25 walks and just one home run. He ran into more resistance in a brief sample at Double-A, where he struck out seven and walked one in four innings but got touched for two home runs.

Joe Rock, LHP, Rays

What We Said: Rock was acquired from Colorado this past offseason in exchange for speedster Greg Jones. With the Rockies in 2024, the lefthander spun his wheels a bit and finished 1-10 with a 4.66 ERA. With Triple-A Durham this season, Rock is rolling. He was excellent in his most recent outing, against Nashville, when he punched out six hitters over five innings while allowing just one unearned run. Nothing in Rock’s arsenal is a particularly knockout offering, but his ability to mix, match, command and change eye levels from a deceptive delivery should be enough to help him reach the big leagues.

What Happened: Rock spent the entire season at Triple-A Durham, where he finished among the International League’s top 10 in strikeouts (132), WHIP (1.40) and innings pitched (139.2). His strikeout total was also seventh in the Tampa Bay system.

Demetrio Crisantes, SS, Diamondbacks

What We Said: Crisantes was called out in Dylan White’s weekly Roboscout article on Sunday as a name to keep an eye on in the ACL. Crisantes signed for $425,000 in the 7th round of the 2022 draft but did not debut until the following summer in the ACL. Crisantes returned to the complex to begin and has surpassed his 2023 production. Hes shown well refined plate skills with a zone-miss rate of 13.6% and a chase rate of 18.3%, while walking more than he’s struck out. Crisantes is showing above-average to plus raw power as well with a 90th percentile exit velocity of 104.7 mph and a 43.9% hard hit rate. Crisantes doesn’t have a ton of projection, but he’s an advanced teenage bat with potential 55-60 grade power at peak and a chance to stick in the infield.

What Happened: Crisantes was one of the best hitters in the lower minors, finishing the year with an on-base streak of 57 games and vaulting into BA’s Top 100.

Walter Pennington, LHP, Royals

What We Said: Pennington was one of the surprise stars of spring training as he struck out 16 of the 29 batters he faced while posting a 1.23 ERA in nine appearances. While that was impressive, it was fair to wonder if the funky lefty could do the same thing in Triple-A over a longer stint. He’s cleared that hurdle as well. Pennington, a nondrafted free agent the Royals signed in 2020 out of the Colorado School of Mines, made three appearances against Indianapolis. He faced 21 batters. He struck out 12 of them and allowed only one to reach base. He’s posted a 1.85 ERA overall with a hard-to-fathom 62-to-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 39 innings. It’s best to describe Pennington as a slider-fastball reliever. He uses his slider more than anything else against righties or lefties. He spots his low-90s fastball, but it’s that plus slider that ties up hitters. With the Royals needing bullpen help, it’s hard to believe Pennington won’t get the call at some point.

What Happened: Pennington did indeed get the call, then got dealt to Texas at the summer trading deadline. He finished the year with his first big league win and 16 strikeouts—but 11 walks—across 17 innings with both clubs.

Trevor Harrison, RHP, Rays

What We Said: In the fifth round of the 2023 draft, the Rays selected Harrison, a prep righthander from Florida. So far, he’s been one of the best pitchers in the Florida Complex League. Although his latest turn was a bit clunkier than usual, the 18-year-old has still rung up 27 strikeouts in 22 innings, the sixth-highest total in the league. Harrison is a physical pitcher with a fastball that has touched 97 at the front of a three-pitch mix that includes a slider and changeup as well. The former high school teammate of Phillies prospect Aidan Miller looks like another Rays pitching success story in the making.

What Happened: Harrison continued crushing in the Florida Complex League, then did the same in the Low-A Carolina League, where he became part of an all-prospect rotation at Low-A Charleston. He finished the season with 87 strikeouts against 26 walks in 72.2 innings across both of his stops.

Welinton Herrera, LHP, Rockies

What We Said: It’s unusual to highlight a relief only prospect in Low-A as a helium candidate, but lefthanded Welinton Herrera is run of the mill. Over 21 appearances Herrera is 8-2 with 2.03 ERA and a 43.5% strikeout rate to a 5.6% walk rate. Herrera is an undersized lefty that creates a low release height on his fastball that allows him to miss bats. The primary  secondary in Herrera’s arsenal is a slider in the mid-to-low-80s with gyro shape. It’s used as a change of pace when paired with Herrera’s above-average fastball. His fastball quality is so good that he has a 21% swinging strike rate against the pitch this season. Herrera is relief only but he looks like the type of high-powered deceptive lefty organizations crave.

What Happened: Herrera split his 46 appearances evenly between Low-A Fresno and High-A Spokane, finishing with 92 strikeouts against 23 walks over 62.1 innings. The strikeout total was the most among Rockies minor leaguers who did not make a single start in 2024.

Jesus Made, SS, Brewers

What We Said: The Brewers paid $950,000 to sign Made on Jan. 15, giving him their second-highest bonus of this year’s international signing period. The early returns have been exciting, with Made batting .367/.475/.694 in 59 plate appearances in the Dominican Summer League, drawing more walks (9) than strikeouts (8) and blasting three home runs in 14 games. He’s a 17-year-old switch-hitter with a strong, physical 6-foot-2 frame and big bat speed, showing flashes of above-average power to go with his above-average athleticism. Made’s bat speed and power stood out as an amateur, with some questions as to how polished his pure hitting ability would be, but so far he has shown good bat-to-ball skills and swing decisions to go with that power. Made is a plus runner with a plus arm who has mostly played shortstop, though he has gotten time at third base and second as well while splitting shortstop reps with fellow big-ticket 2024 signing Luis Peña. Made’s offensive game stands out more than his defense, with a chance he could continue to develop at shortstop, but the tools to handle either third base or potentially center field as well.

What Happened: Made was the talk of the Dominican Summer League, finishing among the league’s top 10 in slugging (.554), OPS (1.012), triples (6) and total bases (97) while leading the circuit in runs (63). Scouts were high enough on Made that he made an appearance in the Top 100.

Jeremy Pilon, LHP, Rays

What We Said: Pilon is part of a hard-throwing and interesting FCL Rays rotation. He’s the surprise of that group, as the Quebec-native was an 18th-round pick last year who was coming off Tommy John surgery. He’s now sitting in the mid-90s with the makings of a quality changeup. Pilon is coming off his best start as a pro. He struck out 10 while allowing three hits and one run in five innings against the FCL Twins last week.

What Happened: Pilon’s 61 strikeouts were the second-most in the Florida Complex League, and he earned a late-season promotion to Low-A Charleston. There, he flashed at his potential with 22 strikeouts in 14 innings. He also showed his warts by yielding 14 walks over the same period of time.

Dalvinson Reyes, RHP, Red Sox

What We Said: Signed in January of this year, Reyes has been one of the biggest breakouts in the DSL this summer. A projectable righthander standing 6-foot-5, Reyes lacks power across his pitch mix but flashes three above-average pitch shapes. Reyes mixes a low-90s sinker, a mid-80s cut slider and a mid-80s changeup with heavy tumble and fade. Reyes has the body to project to add multiple ticks across his arsenal. If he’s able to develop more power in the coming years without compromising his pitch shapes he could blossom into one of the Red Sox top staring pitching prospects.

What Happened: Reyes was one of the better pitching prospects in the DSL, where he struck out 19 hitters in 17 innings while surrendering just eight hits and two walks. He made just five appearances and missed nearly two months between his penultimate and final appearances of the year.

Hyun-Seok Jang, RHP, Dodgers

What We Said: When he’s got it going, Jang has some of the nastiest stuff in the minor leagues. The righthander, whom the Dodgers signed last August, spent his first season stateside in the Arizona Complex League. On July 28, in the first game of his team’s championship series against the cross-valley rival D-backs, Jang was magnificent. The righthander spun three one-hit shutout innings and struck out eight of the 11 hitters he faced. As has been the case all season, Jang did show a bit of wildness. He walked one hitter and uncorked a pair of wild pitches. In the regular year, he struck out 41.5% of the hitters he faced, but also finished with a walk rate of around 16% and threw nine wild pitches. Jang has serious upside and major league-ready stuff. To reach his ceiling, he’ll need to throw more strikes.

What Happened: Jang spent his first pro season showing some of the best stuff in the Dodgers’ system while also displaying well below-average control. His four-pitch mix wowed evaluators in the Arizona Complex League and helped him earn a bump to Low-A to close his year. Ultimately, he punched out 68 hitters in 36.2 innings while walking 27 over the same span.

Eduardo Beltre, OF, Twins 

What We Said: One of the most impressive hitters in the Dominican Summer League this season has been Eduardo Beltre. A 17 year old outfielder signed out of the Dominican Republic this past January for $1.5 million. Beltre has shown impressive power and underlying power metrics in his professional debut, and in many ways compares to 2023 DSL standout, and Rockies top 10 prospect Robert Calaz. His 102.6 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and .553 xwOBAcon showcase both his outlier power for age and level and his ability to make his best contact at strong angles. Beltre’s 57% hard hit rate and 61% combined line drive+flyball rate shows his ability to consistently elevate. He shows a knack for pull side power, and enough athleticism to stick in the outfield.

What Happened: Beltre’s 11 home runs were the second-most in the DSL, just three behind the total put forth by Dodgers shortstop Emil Morales. His slugging percentage (.618) and OPS (1.071) were both third in the league.

Bryan Torres, 2B, Cardinals

What We Said: If you don’t know about Torres’ excellent work in the partner league American Association, Torres’ career seems extremely odd. He spent five years in pro ball without ever reaching a full-season league. He was then a MiLB Rule 5 pick in 2019 but didn’t get to play for his new team (the Giants) until 2021 because of the pandemic. When he reached MiLB free agency, he didn’t find a new team and ended up starring for the Milwaukee Milkmen in 2022 and 2023. The 2023 Baseball America Independent/Partner Leagues Player of the Year has had a very solid return to affiliated ball. The former catcher is now a speedy center fielder who has been one of the best hitters in the Texas League. He’s two points behind teammate Jimmy Crooks for both the batting title and on-base percentage lead. As a 27-year-old, this likely is more of an excellent stint for an org player, but do remember what Jose Martinez did with the Cardinals a decade ago. Martinez was an org player bouncing around, but he led the Pacific Coast League in batting as a 26-year-old and made his MLB debut as a 27-year-old with the Cardinals. He would go on to play 432 games in the majors.

What Happened: Torres was a dynamo in the Texas League, which he lead in batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.418) and hits (148). His .834 OPS was the second-best in the league, his 28 doubles were fifth and his 186 total bases were ninth.

Luis Merejo, 1B, Guardians

What We Said: Dating back to last year’s showing in the Dominican Summer League, the data has popped for Merejo. After starting the season in the Arizona Complex League, Merejo got the bump to Low-A Lynchburg on July 30. Since that time, his results have been outstanding, as he’s shown bat-to-ball skills and power. Merejo’s 90th percentile exit velocity of 106.2 mph ranks in the 97th percentile of hitters and is in elite company among players 20 years of age or younger. It’s not just raw power either as Merejo has shown a consistent ability to get to his power in games and is doing so against older competitors. His is a name to watch in 2025 as a potential breakout.

What Happened: Merejo produced a fine season in the Arizona Complex League but really turned on the juice after promotion to Low-A Lynchburg toward year’s end. In the Carolina League, Merejo popped three home runs in 30 games, just one fewer than the total he produced in 47 games in the ACL.

Keeler Morfe, RHP, Orioles

What We Said: Morfe signed with the Orioles in 2023, when his fastball was already bumping 95 mph as a 16-year-old. Until this past week, he’d spent his entire career in the Dominican Summer League. This year, he was one of the best pitching prospects on the circuit, having struck out 38 hitters in 22 innings. In that span, he allowed just 11 hits and walked eight. This past week, Baltimore moved Morfe to Low-A for his debut. It was spectacular. Facing Salem, the righthander struck out seven and allowed just one hit over three innings. He pounds the zone with three pitches that flash plus. There are questions about whether his smaller frame will hold up to the rigors of a starter’s workload, but his pure stuff is undeniable.

What Happened: Morfe was one of the most dominant pitchers in the DSL this summer. In his second turn at the level, the righthander struck out 38 hitters and walked just eight over 22 innings. Once the season closed, he moved stateside and continued to flash big-time stuff with Low-A Delmarva. In the Carolina League, he added 11 more strikeouts—and nine more walks—to his ledger over 10.2 innings.

Bo Davidson, OF, Giants

What We Said: San Francisco signed Davidson as an undrafted minor league free agent in 2023 and got him a quick tuneup in the Arizona Complex League before unleashing him on full-season ball in 2024. Now, he’s opened the eyes of evaluators with his combination of physicality, athleticism and production. Though he’s currently on the injured list, he racked up 26 extra-base hits—including nine home runs—in 51 games before hitting the IL on Aug. 29. His tools and skills give him an intriguing ceiling and make him a prospect worth monitoring.

What Happened: Davidson spent the summer showing off a loud tool set that the Giants were wise to ID as an undrafted free agent in 2023. The Caldwell (N.C.) Tech JC alum has power, speed and a strong throwing arm that could help propel him to the big leagues. He was a revelation in a season spent mostly in the Low-A California League, where he was limited by injuries to just 53 games.

Payton Eeles, 2B, Twins

What We Said: Eeles was a super senior in 2023 who had been a regular for five seasons (including the pandemic-shortened 2020 season). As a 23-year-old, he went undrafted, and signed with the American Association’s Chicago Dogs. He began the 2024 season with the Atlantic League’s Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, but the Twins quickly signed him, and he has rocketed through three levels. A promotion to Triple-A St. Paul hasn’t slowed him down at all, and he’s hitting .308/.436/.486 with 34 steals, 17 doubles, 7 triples, 9 home runs and nearly as many walks (57) as strikeouts (58). That isn’t all that surprising when you consider that Eeles has a solid approach and a very tiny strike zone (he’s 5-foot-5). At this time last year, Eeles couldn’t find an affiliated team that would sign him. Now he’s a versatile utility infielder who ranks fourth in the minors in on-base percentage.

What Happened: Eeles was a minor league star for the Twins. His .306 average was the best among all qualified Twins farmhands, as were his eight triples, 87 runs, 67 walks (tied with two other players), 23 HBPS, 41 stolen bases, .435 on-base percentage and .497 slugging percentage.