Midseason Minor League Players Of The Year For All 30 Organizations
Image credit: Luke Keaschall (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos)
The full-season minor leagues pause for four days each July during the major league all-star break.
While minor league all-star games are a thing of the past—aside from the invaluable Futures Game—we are now at the perfect vantage point to take stock of the top prospect performers in each organization.
The criteria for our midseason minor league player of the year honorees is simple: We’re looking for the best performance by a prospect in the first half. Without further ado, here are the 30 honorees.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Adrian Del Castillo, C
Triple-A Reno
Righthander Yilber Diaz pitched well in hostile Double-A and Triple-A run environments and made a successful jump to the big leagues, but Del Castillo’s run production while starting 50 games at catcher gets the nod. He hit .319/.396/.607 with 20 home runs in 85 games for Reno while leading the Pacific Coast League with a 1.003 OPS and 204 total bases.
Atlanta Braves
Drake Baldwin, C
Triple-A Gwinnett
Baldwin’s frozen-rope home run to the opposite field at the Futures Game put a bow on a strong first half spent at Double-A Mississippi and Gwinnett. He hit .265/.357/.401 with 10 home runs in 76 games—46 of them behind the plate—with a strong walk-to-strikeout ratio. Gwinnett shortstop Nacho Alvarez deserves notice for hitting .285/.389/.398 with six homers in 73 games and improving his range afield.
Baltimore Orioles
Coby Mayo, 3B
Triple-A Norfolk
Mayo led the International League in slugging percentage at the break, and it’s only a matter of time before the Orioles add his righthanded bat to their lineup. The 22-year-old hit .301/.381/.602 with 19 home runs in 65 games for Norfolk, keeping at bay talented Tides teammates Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad and Connor Norby.
Boston Red Sox
Kristian Campbell, 2B/OF
Double-A Portland
Promising Red Sox position prospects Kyle Teel, Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony have had fine seasons at Portland, but they can’t hold a candle to Campbell. Drafted in the fourth round last year out of Georgia Tech, Campbell advanced quickly to Double-A this season, where he had a .407 average and .507 on-base percentage at midseason. Overall, he hit .351/.458/.589 with 12 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 72 games.
Chicago Cubs
Moises Ballesteros, C
Triple-A Iowa
Rare is the 20-year-old Triple-A regular. Ballesteros recently joined the Orioles’ Jackson Holliday in the club. While he draws mixed reviews for his agility behind the plate, the 5-foot-7 Ballesteros has rare contact-plus-impact potential. In the first half, he hit .300/.363/.483 with 11 home runs in 74 games, 40 of them at catcher.
Chicago White Sox
Brooks Baldwin, SS/2B
Triple-A Charlotte
A switch-hitter who can play every infield position, Baldwin hit the ground running at Double-A Birmingham this season and kept producing following a promotion to Charlotte. The 12th-rounder from UNC Wilmington in 2022 hit .324/.391/.460 with eight home runs and 17 stolen bases through 82 games. The 23-year-old Baldwin is trending toward a regular role in Chicago.
Cincinnati Reds
Sal Stewart, 3B/2B
High-A Dayton
Led by Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Greene, the Reds’ top six WAR totals have been compiled by players who have debuted since 2021. That is to say, with all the recent impact MLB graduates, Cincinnati’s minor league talent level is lower than usual. Stewart is one exception. The 2022 first-rounder hit .279/.391/.454 with eight home runs and 50 walks through 80 Midwest League games, all while taking on his largest share ever of second base.
Cleveland Guardians
C.J. Kayfus, 1B/OF
Double-A Akron
The Guardians’ Low-A Lynchburg affiliate began the year with emerging prospects Angel Genao, Ralphy Velazquez and Jaison Chourio making noise. All the while, 22-year-old Kayfus kept plugging away in anonymity at High-A Lake County and later Akron. The 2023 third-rounder from Miami hit .326/.434/.591 with 15 home runs in 72 games in the first half and will vie to be Cleveland’s first baseman of the future.
Colorado Rockies
Chase Dollander, RHP
High-A Spokane
The Rockies have added interesting arms aplenty in the past few drafts. The organization added Brody Brecht this year, on top of Sean Sullivan, Jace Kaminska and Dollander last year. High-A hitters haven’t posed much of a challenge for Dollander, who sliced through SEC competition while at Tennessee. He has a 2.83 ERA with 111 strikeouts, 28 walks and six home runs through 70 innings in the Northwest League.
Detroit Tigers
Kevin McGonigle, SS/2B
Low-A Lakeland
McGonigle now stands as the Tigers’ top middle infield prospect after he leapfrogged Jace Jung and Hao-Yu Lee, both of whom also had strong first halves. If McGonigle develops a plus tool, it will be his hitting ability. The lefthanded batter hit .329/.410/.464 with three home runs and 19 stolen bases through 58 games in the Florida State League.
Houston Astros
Shay Whitcomb, SS/3B
Triple-A Sugar Land
The Astros have had several future MLB position regulars pop at Sugar Land in recent years, including Jeremy Peña, Jake Meyers and Bryan De La Cruz in 2021 and Yainer Diaz in 2022. Whitcomb is trying to join the club following a strong first half in which he hit .299/.383/.535 with 19 home runs and 22 stolen bases in 85 games. He also plays corner outfield, and his versatility gives him many avenues to big league utility.
Kansas City Royals
Blake Mitchell, C
Low-A Columbia
High school catchers can be risky propositions, but the Royals were so bought in on Texas prep catcher/righthander Mitchell that they drafted him eighth overall last year. So far, so good. The powerful lefthanded batter bashed 12 home runs while hitting .257/.391/.468 and drawing 55 walks through 73 games. Mitchell led the pitcher-friendly Carolina League with an .859 OPS.
Los Angeles Angels
Caden Dana, RHP
Double-A Rocket City
Drafted in the 11th round in 2022, Dana has reached Double-A as a 20-year-old and represented the Angels at the Futures Game. He has more than held his own, ranking among Southern League leaders with 97 strikeouts, a 1.03 WHIP and a 2.99 ERA.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Alex Freeland, SS
Double-A Tulsa
Mookie Betts has filled in admirably this season, but the Dodgers have struggled to find a shortstop since Corey Seager and Trea Turner left as free agents. Acquiring young shortstops prospects has been a focus for Los Angeles, and it might have found a good one in Freeland, a 2022 third-rounder from Central Florida. Between stops at High-A Great Lakes and Tulsa this season, he hit .277/.418/.490 with 12 home runs and 21 stolen bases through 83 games.
Miami Marlins
Thomas White, LHP
High-A Beloit
Though he fell to pick No. 35 last year, White signed for mid-first-round money and has sailed to High-A this season as a 19-year-old. Through 14 starts for Low-A Jupiter and Beloit, he recorded a 3.10 ERA with 81 strikeouts, 29 walks and three home runs allowed through 61 innings. White’s 19.1 K-BB% ranks as one of the best for teenagers with at least 50 innings.
Milwaukee Brewers
Luke Adams, 3B
High-A Wisconsin
In a first half full of pleasant developmental surprises—including strong showings from 2023 draft picks Cooper Pratt, Eric Bitonti, Craig Yoho and Mike Boeve—it is third-year pro Adams who stands out most. His power-and-patience approach has manifested in a .239/.432/.429 batting line with nine home runs, 21 stolen bases and 56 walks in 75 games for Wisconsin. Adams leads the Midwest League in on-base percentage and ranks fifth in OPS at .861.
Minnesota Twins
Luke Keaschall, 2B/OF
Double-A Wichita
An astute second-round pick last year out of Arizona State, Keaschall has been one of the top overall performers in the minor leagues. He began the season at High-A Cedar Rapids and moved to Wichita at the end of May, producing a .327/.438/.506 batting line with 11 home runs, 19 stolen bases and 52 walks in 84 games.
New York Mets
Brandon Sproat, RHP
Double-A Binghamton
Sproat is one of the hardest-throwing starting pitchers in the minor leagues, and batters have struggled to solve him. Heading into the second half, he ranks third in the full-season minors with a 1.71 ERA and fourth with a .168 opponent average. Sproat has 85 strikeouts against 28 walks in 73.2 innings at High-A Brooklyn and Binghamton.
New York Yankees
Ben Rice, C/1B
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
Rice continued his assault on minor league pitchers at Double-A and Triple-A this season, batting .275/.393/.532 with 15 home runs and 40 walks in 60 games. The Yankees called up the 25-year-old on June 18 and he quickly assumed a large share of first base and a premium lineup spot. Drafted in the 12th round out of Dartmouth in 2021, Rice has not started a game at catcher in MLB, but position considerations might not matter if he keeps hitting.
Oakland Athletics
Jacob Wilson, SS
Triple-A Las Vegas
Wilson hit .455 at Double-A Midland and “just” .398 at Las Vegas in the first half of his incredible full-season debut. Only a knee injury that limited him to 46 games could hold him back. Wilson enters the second half as a .438/.475/.687 hitter with more than twice as many extra-base hits (32) as strikeouts (13). The A’s are expected to call Wilson up after the all-star break.
Philadelphia Phillies
Otto Kemp, 3B
Double-A Reading
Justin Crawford and Aidan Miller are the top position prospects in the Phillies’ system. A number of young pitchers have stood out—including George Klassen, Samuel Aldegheri and Jean Cabrera—but not to the extent of Kemp, a versatile, 24-year-old infielder who finished the first half ranked ninth in the minors with a .990 OPS. Undrafted out of Division II Point Loma Nazarene, Kemp signed in 2022 and this year hit his way to Double-A, producing a .317/.430/.560 line along the way with 12 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 73 games.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Charles McAdoo, 3B/OF
Double-A Altoona
Drafted in the 13th round last year out of San Jose State, McAdoo has made noise in his full-season debut. In a first half spent primarily at hitter-friendly High-A Greensboro, he batted .323/.407/.557 with 13 home runs and 16 stolen bases in 78 games. McAdoo has also seen time on the outfield corners and might be a better fit there.
St. Louis Cardinals
Quinn Mathews, LHP
Double-A Springfield
Mathews was something of a draft afterthought last year as a fourth-rounder out of Stanford. This year, he is one of the top ascending pitching prospects. A velocity boost has helped Mathews climb from Low-A Palm Beach to Springfield, posting a 2.22 ERA along the way, with 120 strikeouts, 25 walks and four home runs in 85 innings.
San Diego Padres
Romeo Sanabria, 1B
High-A Fort Wayne
Many of the Padres’ brightest prospects have stumbled, including Ethan Salas, Robby Snelling and Dylan Lesko, creating an opening for an overachiever like Sanabria. Drafted as a catcher out of junior college in 2022, he spent the better part of two seasons in Rookie ball before hitting his way to High-A this season. Through 79 games at Low-A Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne, he used his simple lefthanded swing to hit .304/.423/.458 with eight home runs and 60 walks.
San Francisco Giants
Joe Whitman, LHP
High-A Eugene
The Giants drafted Whitman as a compensatory second round pick last year out of Kent State, and it has been smooth sailing in pro ball so far. In 17 starts for Low-A San Jose and Eugene, he posted a 3.58 ERA along with 82 strikeouts, 29 walks and four home runs in 75.1 innings. Whitman has the fastball/slider combo to continue dominating the minor leagues.
Seattle Mariners
Michael Arroyo, 2B
High-A Everett
The Mariners promoted 19-year-olds Arroyo and outfielder Lazaro Montes to High-A in tandem on June 25. Arroyo got off to a better start at the higher level and gets the midseason POY nod. On the season, Arroyo has hit .278/.408/.495 with 14 home runs and 10 stolen bases through 77 games this season.
Tampa Bay Rays
Carson Williams, SS
Double-A Montgomery
For years, the Rays have had a reputation as a pitching development factory. This season, it’s the hitters who take center stage. Tampa Bay has gotten best-case results from practically every one of their top hitting prospects, including Brayden Taylor, Tre’ Morgan, Chandler Simpson, Xavier Isaac and others. But Williams is the midseason POY pick because he is a lockdown defensive shortstop who hit .259/.351/.493 with 14 home runs and 22 stolen bases through 72 games at Montgomery. He ranks second in the Southern League with an .844 OPS.
Texas Rangers
Emiliano Teodo, RHP
Double-A Frisco
While powerful 20-year-old third baseman Gleider Figuereo hit 17 home runs at a pair of Class A stops, it is Teodo who gets the POY nod based on his Double-A dominance and eye-opening Futures Game performance. Making the start in front of hometown Rangers fans, he pitched two perfect innings and threw 12 of 14 pitches for strikes. Teodo ranks third in the Texas League with 89 strikeouts to go with a 1.71 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 68.1 innings.
Toronto Blue Jays
Spencer Horwitz, 1B/2B
Triple-A Buffalo
Horwitz appeared blocked at Triple-A, despite having a career .433 on-base percentage at the level that is the highest for any hitter since he reached the International League in 2022. But that’s when Horwitz tried something new: he took up second base. That preceded a callup and a productive MLB stint. At Buffalo he hit .335/.456/.514 with four home runs and 44 walks in 57 games.
Washington Nationals
James Wood, OF
Triple-A Rochester
Wood earned a July 1 call-up to Washington on the strength of a rollicking first half at Triple-A in which the 21-year-old hit .353/.463/.595 with 10 home runs in 52 games. Power has never been a question for the 6-foot-7 Wood, though his command of the strike zone—40 walks against 42 strikeouts—belies his long levers. The sky’s the limit for Wood, who moved into position as the No. 1 prospect in baseball in the Top 100 Prospects July update.
