Hot Sheet: Baseball’s 20 Hottest Prospects From The Past Week (6/6/23)

---

1. Matt Wallner, OF, Twins
Team: Triple-A St. Paul (International)
Age: 25

Why He’s Here: .423/.483/1.000 (11-for-26) 9 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 10 RBIs, 1 BB, 5 SO.

The Scoop: Wallner was actually up with the Twins the week before this week’s Hot Sheet, and he managed to go 6-for-6 with two walks and a home run in his final two games with the Twins before his demotion. So how do you top reaching base in eight straight plate appearances in the majors? Wallner tried to do it by torching Buffalo in a six-game series. He grounded into a double play in his first plate appearance on Tuesday to halt his streak, but he then doubled, tripled and homer to fall a single short of the cycle. Wallner’s strikeout rates are always concerning, but he hits the ball extremely hard and is a solid right fielder. (JC)

2. Luis Matos, OF, Giants
Team: Triple-A Sacramento (Pacific Coast)
Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .533/.548/.700 (16-for-30), 5 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBIs, 1 BB, 4 SO, 2-for-3 SB

The Scoop: After a trying 2022 season, Matos has reverted to something closer to the form he showed during his breakout season of 2021. Part of the breakout is simply being healthy. Another part is making better swing decisions and finding a consistent approach. The results have been loud. Matos, who turned 21 in January, bashed his way out of Double-A Richmond quickly and hasn’t skipped a beat in Triple-A. He’s still not likely to work deep into counts, but he has managed to work a walk rate of roughly 10%. Couple his offensive gifts with stellar defensive skills in center field and you have one fantastic prospect. (JN)

3. Oswald Peraza, SS, Yankees
Team: Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (International)
Age: 22

Why He’s Here: .308/.419/.808 (8-for-26), 7 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 4 RBIs, 3 BB, 3 SO, 0-for-1 SB

The Scoop: Peraza’s offensive profile has always been hit over power. In a return to Triple-A, he’s shown a lot more thump. He’s already had two multi-home run games—including one this past week—which equaled his total for all of his previous career. With Anthony Volpe manning shortstop in the Bronx, Peraza has continued to move around the diamond, including a few stops at third base. He’ll need that extra thump in order to profile at either position long term, so the recent uptick in juice might go a long way toward Peraza securing a spot on the Yankees’ future infield. (JN)

4.  Spencer Arrighetti, RHP, Astros
Team: Double-A Corpus Christi (Texas)
Age: 23 

Why He’s Here: 2-0, 0.90, 10 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 19 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: After a difficult start in April, Arrighetti has been excellent since the calendar flipped to May. Arrighetti topped off his excellent month with five innings of one-run ball last Tuesday when he struck out a season-high 12 batters. He followed that up with five scoreless innings on Sunday with seven strikeouts. Arrighetti uses four pitches consistently, led by a flat vertical approach angle fastball, a two-plane curveball, a sweeping slider and a changeup. (GP)

5. Yu-Min Lin, LHP, D-backs
Team: High-A Hillsboro (Northwest)
Age: 19

Why He’s Here: 0-0, 0.00, 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 13 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: Lin has been both productive and relatively anonymous while rising through Arizona’s system. His most recent start stands as a very loud reminder of his talent. The lefthander entered the week with 32 strikeouts on his ledger. He promptly rung up nearly 41% of that total. The outing also vaulted Lin into the seventh spot on the Northwest League strikeout leaderboard. (JN)

6. Kala’i Rosario, OF, Twins
Team: High-A Cedar Rapids (Midwest)
Age: 20

Why He’s Here: .320/.414/.880 (8-for-25) 7 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 9 RBIs, 3 BB, 8 SO
The Scoop: Rosario heads into today’s game with quite a streak on the line. He’s homered in four consecutive games, adding an exclamation point to what’s a promising breakout season for the 20-year-old so far. After hitting .215/.311/.323 in April, Rosario has heated up with the weather. His .291/.395/.537 slash line nowadays has him ranking in the top 10 in the Midwest League in batting average, home runs (9), RBIs (32), OBP, slugging, OPS (.932), hits (51) and extra-base hits (23), and he leads the league in total bases (94). (JC)

7. Jace Jung, 2B, Tigers
Team: High-A West Michigan (Midwest)
Age: 22

Why He’s Here: .565/.621/.957 (13-for-23), 4 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBIs, 3 BB, 6 SO.

The Scoop: After a solid April, Jung struggled through most of May. The first game of his series last week against Dayton seemed to be more of the same, as he struck out four times in four-at bats for the second time in two weeks. But after that rough start to the week, Jung doubled and homered the next day, he reached base on 15 of his final 20 plate appearances over the rest of the week. Jung’s drawn mixed reviews from scouts so far this year. Much like his brother coming out of college, Jace gets a lot of his hits to the opposite field, and one of his home runs this week was a well-driven shot to left-center. How well that will play as he climbs the ladder remains to be seen. (JC)

8. Tanner Schobel, SS, Twins
Team: High-A Cedar Rapids (Midwest)
Age: 22

Why He’s Here: .483/.500/.724 (14-for-29), 7 R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBIs, 0 BB, 5 SO, 1 SB.

When Schobel was at Virginia Tech, scouts saw a future utilityman even if he was the Hokies’ everyday shortstop. That reality is coming to fruition. Schobel has focused on second and third base this year in his first full pro season. There are concerns about how much impact Schobel will provide at the plate, so he needs to hit for average and get on base, which is exactly what he’s been doing lately. (JC)

9. Trey Lipscomb, OF, Nationals
Team: High-A Wilmington (South Atlantic)
Age: 22

Why He’s Here: .429/.452/.714 (12-for-28), 7 R, 5 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBIs, 2 BB, 4 SO, 0-for-0 SB

The Scoop: Lipscomb got off to a slow start in his first full season, but he’s starting to heat up. The 2022 third-round pick out of Tennessee took advantage of a road trip to hitter-friendly Asheville to deliver five consecutive multi-hit games last week, including a four-hit day on May 31. In a span of five days, Lipscomb raised his batting average from .224 to .261 and his OPS from .631 to .729. (KG)

10. Jose Tena, 2B, Guardians
Team: Double-A Akron (Eastern)
Age: 22

Why He’s Here: .440/.517/.720 (11-for-25), 6 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 2 BB, 5 SO, 2-for-2 SB

The Scoop: Tena’s in the midst of a miserable offensive season at Akron, but he made it a little better last week. The Dominican infielder recorded a hit in all six games against Hartford last week, including a four-hit game on Saturday and a three-hit game on Sunday. Tena entered the series batting .162 with a .485 OPS and left it batting .213 with a .623 OPS. (KG)

11. Frank Mozzicato, LHP, Royals
Team: Low-A Columbia (Carolina)
Age: 19

Why He’s Here: 0-1, 1.80, 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 SO, 1 HR

The Scoop: First, the bad news: Mozzicato suffered an injury after his start last week when he collided with a teammate during batting practice. Now, the good news: When he did get on the mound, he was as brilliant as he’s been all season. Facing Down East, Mozzicato punched out 10 hitters in five innings, good for his second game with double-digit strikeouts this season. The outing brought his strikeout total on the season to a fantastic 74 in 46.1 innings. That total is fourth in the minor leagues and just 15 fewer than his total from 2022, which he achieved in 22.2 more innings. (JN)

12. Justin Crawford, OF, Phillies
Team: Low-A Clearwater (Florida State) 
Age: 19

Why He’s Here: .588/.588/1.000 (10-for-17), 7 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 4 RBIs, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4-for-4 SB

The Scoop: The Phillies’ first-round pick in 2022 enjoyed a tremendous series, as Crawford collected multiple hits in three out of four games last week. His signature game of the week came on Wednesday, when Crawford collected four hits and finished a homer shy of the cycle. The son of former major leaguer Carl Crawford, Justin has a tooled-up profile with feel to hit, speed and projectable power. (GP)

13. Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs
Team: Double-A Tennessee (Southern)
Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .350/.458/.850 (7-for-20), 6 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 5 RBIs, 3 BB, 7 SO, 1-for-1 SB

The Scoop: Crow-Armstrong is one of the best defensive center fielders in the minor leagues, a truly elite gloveman who is a slam dunk to stick up the middle. Offensively, he’s no slouch either. The 21-year-old, who was dealt from the Mets to the Cubs in the Javier Baez deal in 2021, entered the week with four home runs, then promptly hit three in a week. On the season, Crow-Armstrong has produced an OPS of .840. That’s impressive enough on its own, but it becomes magnified by the fact that the Southern League is currently using a pre-tacked baseball that has skewed the offensive environment toward pitchers. (JN)

14. Edwin Arroyo, SS, Reds
Team: High-A Dayton (Midwest)
Age: 19

Why He’s Here: .458/.462/.667 (11-for-24), 5 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3-for-3 SB

The Scoop: Arroyo has struggled to hit since joining the Reds organization in last year’s Luis Castillo trade, but he showed signs of improvement last week. Arroyo recorded a hit in five straight games to close out Dayton’s series against West Michigan, including a pair of three-hit games. Arroyo finished the series on a high note, hitting a two-run homer to kick-start a six-run inning on Sunday in Dayton’s come-from-behind victory. (KG).

15. Wilmer Flores, RHP, Tigers
Team: Double-A Erie (Eastern)
Age: 22

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 2.00, 2 GS, 9 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 HR, 5 BB, 14 SO.

The Scoop: After a breakout 2022 season, Flores needed a reset halfway through April. Three starts into the season this year, he’d already given up more runs (13) than he did in the first two and a half months of 2022. Thankfully for Flores and the Tigers, he’s back on track again. Flores has yet to allow more than two runs in any of his last eight starts and he’s posted a 2.19 ERA over those eight outings. (JC)

16. Jordyn Adams, OF, Angels
Team: Triple-A Salt Lake (Pacific Coast)
Age: 23

Why He’s Here: .333/.500/.833 (6-for-18), 6 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 10 RBIs, 7 BB, 7 SO, 1-for-1 SB

The Scoop: An elite athlete who has long struggled to hit, Adams is at least flashing the ability to get hot in spurts at Triple-A and carry the team when he does. The 2018 first-round pick had two home runs and seven RBIs in a huge game against Albuquerque on June 1, hitting a pair of two-run homers and drawing a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the tenth inning to bring home the winning run. In 53 games this year, Adams has already set a new career high with 11 home runs and is three RBIs away from breaking his career high of 42. (KG)

17. Layonel Ovalles, RHP, Mets
Team: Low-A St. Lucie (Florida State)
Age: 19 

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: The 19-year-old Ovals was downright dominant in his start on Friday, when he struck out 10 while allowing just two baserunners to reach over six scoreless innings. Ovalles uses a deep repertoire of pitches, including a four-seam fastball with ride and cut in the low 90s, a pair of breaking balls in his curveball and slider, and a changeup. This was Ovalles’ high-water mark in terms of strikeouts—his previous high of nine was nearly a year ago in the Florida Complex League. (GP)

18. Royber Salinas, RHP, Athletics
Team: Double-A Midland (Texas)
Age: 22

Why He’s Here: 0-1, 1.50, 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 11 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: The command is a major question mark still, but when Salinas is on he’s one of the most difficult pitchers to barrel in all of professional baseball. On Friday, Salinas had one of his signature games. He tossed six innings and allowed one run while striking out 11. This was his second double-digit strikeout game of the season after accomplishing that feat five times in 2022. Salinas pairs a mid-90s fastball with a hellacious slider, his bread-and-butter combination. (GP)

19. Moises Gomez, OF, Cardinals
Team: Triple-A Memphis (International) 
Age: 24 

Why He’s Here: .304/.429/.957 (7-for-23), 7 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 5 HR, 7 RBIs, 5 BB, 6 SO, 0-for-0 SB

The Scoop: The slugger enjoyed a breakout season in 2022, hitting 39 home runs across the two highest levels of the minors. While it’s been a slower start to the season in 2023, Gomez got cooking last week as he hit five home runs. In fact, Gomez hit four over the first three games of the series, including a two-home run effort on Wednesday. Gomez was added to the 40-man roster this offseason, so he could be up with the Cardinals if there are injuries at any point this season. (GP)

20. AJ Vukovich, 3B, D-backs
Team: Double-A Amarillo (Texas)
Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .348/.348/.913 (8-for-23), 7 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBIs, 0 BB, 4 SO, 1-for-1 SB

The Scoop: Vukovich may be finding his stride after a slow start. The 2020 fourth-round pick recorded a hit in all six games against Springfield last week to snap out of a nasty 4-for-30 slump. He started things off with a double in the series opener, followed with a triple the following night and then delivered home runs in back-to-back games. He finished on a high note on Sunday, hitting a grand slam in the the fifth inning off of pitcher Logan Gragg. (KG).

Helium Prospects

Chase Hampton, RHP, Yankees 

In 2021, the Yankees took Will Warren in the draft, kept him out of game action until the next year, choosing instead to work with him at instructional league and during the offseason. The following season, he rose up the ranks of the Yankees’ best arms. This year, that role is being played by Hampton, whom New York took out of Texas Tech in the sixth round in 2022. Now that he’s been unleashed, Hampton has blown away the competition and evaluators alike and is in the conversation for the best pitching prospect in the system. He attacks hitters with a fastball that sits in the mid 90s and backs it with a mix of cutter, slider and curveball that gives him weapons to both righties and lefties. He’s struck out 10 hitters in each of his last two starts and his 69 Ks for the season are tied for eighth in the minors. (JN)

Thayron Liranzo, C, Dodgers

Liranzo was part of the Dodgers’ backfield bounty that wowed evaluators this spring. Now that the lights have come on, he’s upped his game. The 19-year-old backstop has popped 14 home runs already this year, which ties him with Dodgers system-mate Chris Newell and Rockies prospect Jordan Beck for the most at either Class A classification. He’s become a better defender and has plus arm strength behind the dish, too. The longballs Liranzo hits are no cheapies, either. His average exit velocity hovers around 92 mph and his 90th percentile exit velocity is in the same range as prospects like Kyle Manzardo (Rays), Marcelo Mayer (Red Sox) and fellow up-arrow catching prospect Samuel Basallo (Orioles). (JN)