Ranking The 10 Hottest MLB Prospects | Hot Sheet (9/24/24)

1. Alex Freeland, SS, Dodgers

Team: Triple-A Oklahoma City (Pacific Coast)
Age: 23

Why He’s Here: .423/.464/.885 (11-for-26) 3 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBIs, 1 BB, 4 SO, 1 SB.

The Scoop: Freeland’s 2024 season has been an impressive breakout, but the shortstop seemed to run out of steam in mid-August. His Triple-A slashline dipped from .296/.367/.544 on Aug. 13 to .194/.298/.278 on Sept. 13. But Freeland has found a second wind. He ended with an eight-game hitting streak, and hit his 16th, 17th and 18th home runs of the season. Freeland showed he’ll need some more time at Triple-A Oklahoma City to start 2025, but he remains one of the best prospects in the Dodgers’ system, especially since he’s shown he can handle shortstop defensively. (JC)

2. Travis Sykora, RHP, Nationals

Team: Low-A Fredericksburg (Carolina)
Age: 20

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: In his first playoff start, Sykora was nails. In his second, he was the hammer. The fireballing righthander followed up an outstanding outing against Carolina in the first round with five dominant frames in the Championship Series against Kannapolis. All told, Sykora finished the postseason with just two hits and a walk allowed in 10 frames. He struck out 18 hitters. In other words, 60% of the outs he recorded were strikeouts. His dominance put a bow on an excellent season and helped deliver the Carolina League championship to Fredericksburg. (JN)

3. Spencer Jones, OF, Yankees

Team: Double-A Somerset (Eastern)
Age: 23

Why He’s Here: .429/.429/.857 (6-for-14), 2 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 4 RBIs, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1-for-1 SB

The Scoop: It’s no secret that Jones has spent the 2024 season dealing with massive contact issues. But he has had no such trouble in the postseason. In 14 playoff at-bats, Jones has struck out just once. In doing so, he’s helped lead Somerset to the Eastern League Championship Series, where they’re in the midst of a duel with Erie (Tigers) for the crown. Jones’ has also shown off his signature power during the playoffs, including a massive longball against Hartford righthander Chase Dollander which produced an exit velocity of a stunning 115 mph. (JN)

4. Jacob Gonzalez, SS, White Sox

Team: Double-A Birmingham (Southern)
Age: 22

Why He’s Here: .538/.625/.846 (7-for-13) 4 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 2 BB, 1 SO, 2 SB.

The Scoop: Gonzalez’s 2024 season was an underwhelming one for the 15th pick in the 2023 draft. He hit .225/.284/.321 in 94 games with the Barons. But his postseason is looking like one to remember. Gonzalez didn’t start the playoff opener, but he homered, had two hits, scored two runs and stole a base in the second game of the first-round series. He got another two hits in the first round clincher and he went 3-for-5 with a double and another stolen base in Game 1 of the championship series. It’s somewhat remarkable as Gonzalez has now had three straight multi-hit games. He hadn’t had a multi-hit game in the regular season in his final 13 games, and he’d had just one three-hit game since June 1. (JC)

5. K.C. Hunt, RHP, Brewers

Team: Double-A Biloxi (Southern)
Age: 24 

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 1.17, 7.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: When we discuss names that truly came out of nowhere this season, Hunt will be front and center in the conversation. Hunt has pitched his way up to Double-A and dominated regardless of level. Last week, Hunt made his final start of the season allowing one run and striking out five. Hunt has a plus slider and shows advanced pitchability. A 2023 nondrafted free agent, Hunt has cemented himself as a potential rotation option for the Brewers in 2025. (GP) 

6. Cole Young, SS, Mariners

Team: Double-A Arkansas (Texas) 
Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .467/.526/.800 (7-for-15), 5 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 2 BB, 4 SO, 0-for-0 SB

The Scoop: In four playoffs games this far, Young has three multi-hit games, including a standout performance in Arkansas’ series-clinching victory where he collected eight total bases. Young isn’t the most exciting prospect but he’s steady across the board with the ability to play multiple positions up the middle. Young has plus contact skills and a strong approach with enough speed to put the pressure on opposing defenders while on-base. (GP) 

7. Jack Perkins, RHP, Athletics 

Team: Double-A Midland (Texas)
Age: 24 

Why He’s Here: 0-0, 1.50, 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 12 SO, 1HR

The Scoop: Perkins dealt with injuries throughout the first half of 2024, but returned strong in the second half. He carried that momentum through until the end of the season and into the playoffs. Last week, Perkins tossed a gem in the playoffs for the RockHounds striking out a dozen and walking none. Perkins mixes a four-seam fastball that sits 95-96 mph with a hard sweeper slider at 85-87 mph, a low-90s cutter, curveball and changeup. Perkins has a deep arsenal of pitches and a variety of paths to generate outs. (GP) 

8. Brandon Birdsell, RHP, Cubs

Team: Triple-A Iowa (International)
Age: 24

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 4.26, 1 GS, 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 SO.

The Scoop: The Cubs’ 2022 fifth-round pick out of Texas Tech, Birdsell got better and better as the season wore on. Even with a couple of rough starts in September, Birdsell was impressive generally with Triple-A Iowa and he finished his season with his best start of the season, filling the zone with mid-90 fastballs and a very hard, 90 mph slider to set a season-high with 10 strikeouts. Birdsell allowed one or fewer runs with six or more innings of work in five of his 12 Triple-A starts. Now he just needs to find some more consistency. He allowed more runs than innings pitched in four of his other seven Triple-A starts. (JC)

9. Payton Eeles, 2B, Twins

Team: Triple-A St. Paul (International)
Age: 24

Why He’s Here: .360/.467/.720 (9-for-25) 7 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBIs, 5 BB, 5 SO, 6 SB.

The Scoop: It’s hard to find anyone in the affiliated minors who came further in 2024 than Eeles. He wasn’t even on an affiliated roster on MiLB Opening Day, as he didn’t sign with the Twins until May 7. A 24-year-old second baseman signed out of the Atlantic League to play in the Low-A Florida State League is not exactly the profile of a prospect. It took just a month for Eeles to earn a promotion to High-A Cedar Rapids (thanks to his .965 OPS). His stay at Cedar Rapids was even shorter as he earned a July 4 promotion to Triple-A St. Paul, skipping completely over Double-A. Eeles missed out on hitting .300 with the Saints by just one hit, but a .299/.419/.500 slash line in a 64-game Triple-A stint makes it clear Eeles is a legitimate prospect. He rarely misses a hittable pitch, doesn’t expand his zone too much and stole 41 bags in 51 attempts. He’ll almost assuredly be on the Twins’ Top 30 this offseason. (JC)

10. Mason Barnett, RHP, Athletics

Team: Double-A Midland (Texas)
Age: 23

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: Since moving from the Royals to the A’s in the deal that sent Lucas Erceg to Kansas City, Barnett has taken up residence among the weekly Hot Sheet. This time, he’s earned the spot for a strong postseason turn in a duel with upstart Rangers righthander Winston Santos. Though Santos punched out a dozen, Barnett kept Frisco off the scoreboard and earned the win for his team. Two days later, the Rockhounds had clinched a spot in the Texas League Championship Series. For his final act, Barnett will take the hill on Sept. 24 with a chance to give Midland its first title since 2017, the last of its run of four straight crowns. (JN)