RoboScout Top MLB Prospects At Every Level On July 28, 2024

Dominican Summer League Hitters (min 30 PA)

Rank	Name	Team	Robo	RoboCast
1	Rainiel Rodriguez	STL	100	100
2	Eduardo Beltre	MIN	94	98
3	Jesus Made	MIL	91	96
4	Emil Morales	LAD	93	96
5	Jose Anderson	MIL	92	92
6	Edward Florentino	PIT	84	91
7	Luis Pena	MIL	84	89
8	Yolfran Castillo	TEX	79	87
9	Elvin Garcia	BAL	76	85
10	Juneiker Caceres	CLE	88	84
11	Stiven Martinez	BAL	81	83
12	Juan Ortuno	MIL	78	83
13	Estivel Morillo	CLE	84	82
14	Jaset Martinez	CIN	71	81
15	Jirvin Morillo	CIN	74	81
16	Adriander Mejia	BAL	64	78
17	Cesar Lugo	CHC	67	78
18	Jesus Alexander	SFG	65	77
19	Jordan Sanchez	BAL	67	77
20	Justin Gonzales	BOS	71	77

 

Paulino Santana (Rangers) won the DSL All-Star Game MVP last week. This should come as no surprise to readers, as Ben Badler long identified him as one of the prized January international signees. RoboScout hasn’t been too enamored with the 17-year-old’s overall results this season, however, because of an uninspiring lack of in-game power so far. With no home runs and a slugging percentage below .350—and a maximum exit velocity just over 102 mph—Santana seems to be focusing on a contact-oriented approach and excellent swing decisions. With plus speed and solid defense, Santana has other ways to positively impact a game while he works on increasing his strength.

After making it into the top 5 last week, catcher Rainiel Rodriguez (Cardinals) finds himself at the top of the table after hitting another two bombs last week, bringing his season total to nine to lead the league.

Complex League Hitters (min 50 PA)

Rank	Name	Team	Robo	RoboCast
1	Franklin Arias	BOS	100	100
2	Robert Calaz	COL	100	98
3	Yeremi Cabrera	TEX	97	97
4	Eric Bitonti	MIL	94	95
5	Pablo Guerrero	TEX	94	91
6	Eduardo Tait	PHI	98	89
7	Eduardo Quintero	LAD	84	87
8	Yoeilin Cespedes	BOS	83	85
9	Javier Mogollon	CHW	85	82
10	Starlyn Caba	PHI	78	82
11	Welbyn Francisca	CLE	84	81
12	Engelth Urena	NYY	74	81
13	Edgleen Perez	NYY	73	80
14	Yolfran Castillo	TEX	76	80
15	Brailer Guerrero	TBR	75	79
16	Daiverson Gutierrez	NYM	78	79
17	Felnin Celesten	SEA	75	79
18	Braylin Morel	TEX	84	78
19	Dameury Pena	MIN	77	77
20	Miguel Rodriguez	BAL	73	77
21	Aroon Escobar	PHI	69	76
22	Jhonny Severino	PIT	73	76
23	Yasser Mercedes	MIN	70	76
24	Jeremy Rodriguez	NYM	85	75
25	Luis Merejo	CLE	72	75

Recently promoted from the DSL, Rangers SS Yolfran Castillo cracks the top 20 now that he qualifies for the list. Ben Badler raved about the Venezuelan’s contact skills earlier this season. The 17-year-old was quickly brought stateside and has produced a wRC+ just below league average, which is impressive considering his age. There’s not much power—he currently sports a .017 ISO at the Complex—but he does have an xwOBAcon that was better than league average and actually only .020 lower than Brewers DSL breakout Luis Pena. He’s probably too green to be moved to full-season ball after the ACL Rangers’ current postseason run ends, but even still, the Rangers have to be happy with what they saw from their $600,000 signing. Castillo should be rostered in leagues with 400 prospects or more.

Mets C Daiverson Gutierrez is another player who is finishing stateside after starting in the DSL. The 18-year-old signed with New York for nearly $2 million in 2023 and now enters the top 20 after putting up a 170 wRC+ with two home runs over 54 plate appearances. Yet another talented Venezuelan catching signing, scouts believe Gutierrez can develop into above-average game power. His 108 mph max exit velocity seems to support that. He’s not there yet, but he’s showing above-average swing decisions and contact for his age and level, striking out at only a 7% clip at the Complex. As you know, there are a lot of great catching prospects in the minor leagues right now. He’s not there now, but Gutierrez is off to a solid start.

Complex League Pitchers (min 12 IP)

Rank	Name	Team	Robo	RoboCast
1	Trevor Harrison	TBR	95	100
2	Yordy Herrera	STL	100	100
3	Christian Zazueta	LAD	89	93
4	Samuel Sanchez	LAD	94	93
5	Sean Linan	LAD	92	92
6	Ovis Portes	BOS	86	92
7	Hayden Robinson	MIL	95	91
8	Joseph Yabbour	NYM	84	91
9	Keyner Benitez	MIA	100	91
10	Jefferson Jean	OAK	89	91
11	Juan Valera	BOS	87	89
12	Jacob Bresnahan	CLE	94	89
13	Rafael Gonzalez	HOU	84	89
14	Adrian Herrera	CIN	84	88
15	Johan Simon	TOR	81	88
16	Jogly Garcia	CLE	84	88
17	Alix Hernandez	SFG	86	88
18	Sandy Ozuna	COL	92	86
19	Luis Morellis	CIN	89	85
20	Jesus Carrera	HOU	86	85
21	Hyun-Seok Jang	LAD	83	85
22	Keythel Key	LAA	80	84
23	Zander Mueth	PIT	78	84
24	Jordarlin Mendoza	NYY	78	84
25	Nelfy Ynfante	STL	91	84

The Guardians finally promoted LHP Jacob Bresnahan to Low-A Lynchburg after he registered a 34% strikeout rate, a 1.04 WHIP and 2.54 ERA over 46 innings. The 19-year-old doesn’t have overpowering stuff, nor does it come from a particularly deceptive slot. Bresnahan has a 92 mph four-seam fastball, 83 mph slider and a changeup that gets over 40% whiffs. But the Guardians are one of baseball’s best pitching development organizations and the southpaw has age on his side, just turning 19 a month ago. Look for his velocity to likely end up in the mid 90s.

Angels righty Keythel Key brings his intriguing arsenal to the top 25 for the first time this year. The 20-year-old Venezuelan has a 29% strikeout rate and a 48% groundball rate—both well above-average marks for the level—but the pitch metrics really catch RoboScout’s eye. Key averages 95 mph on his fastball and touches 99 with a high-spin breaking ball that gets about a foot of sweep, plus a developing changeup. His interesting stuff could potentially work in the back of a rotation with further development. He’s an interesting name to watchlist.

Low-A Hitters (min 50 PA)

Rank	Name	Team	Robo	RoboCast
1	Leodalis De Vries	SDP	100	100
2	Colt Emerson	SEA	82	91
3	Michael Arroyo	SEA	83	91
4	Aidan Smith	SEA	80	88
5	Kevin McGonigle	DET	78	87
6	Lazaro Montes	SEA	88	87
7	Blake Mitchell	KCR	75	86
8	Axiel Plaz	PIT	82	86
9	Walker Jenkins	MIN	71	84
10	Jonny Farmelo	SEA	71	82
11	Jaison Chourio	CLE	72	82
12	Demetrio Crisantes	ARI	67	81
13	Josue De Paula	LAD	66	81
14	Jeral Perez	LAD	67	79
15	Zyhir Hope	LAD	60	77
16	Ralphy Velazquez	CLE	68	77
17	Jesus Baez	NYM	69	76
18	Alfredo Duno	CIN	67	75
19	Max Clark	DET	69	74
20	Logan Wagner	LAD	58	74
21	Yophery Rodriguez	MIL	73	73
22	Arjun Nimmala	TOR	67	73
23	Rosman Verdugo	SDP	65	72
24	Cooper Pratt	MIL	63	72
25	Angel Genao	CLE	59	72

Maintaining his absolutely breakneck pace, Leodalis De Vries (Padres) remains No. 1 after knocking three more home runs and stealing another base last week. Again, we can’t overstate what he’s doing as the youngest hitter in full-season ball. De Vries’ .901 OPS since June 3 would be the highest season mark by a 17-year old in Low-A since 2006 with a minimum of 100 plate appearances. His full-season 119 wRC+ is just behind the 122 wRC+ that org-mate Ethan Salas put up at the same age last year to much fanfare. It’s still a short sample, but RoboScout has seen enough: De Vries is a top-10 fantasy prospect.

Speaking of RoboScout favorites, Franklin Arias (Red Sox) has already hit two home runs with a preposterous 379 wRC+ in his first three games for Low-A Salem including seven RBIs. The 18-year old shortstop is on one of the more torrid streaks observed in the minors this year and is a top 25 fantasy prospect per RoboScout, especially when you consider that his 181 wRC+ in the Complex League is the highest since 2006 among 18-year-olds with at least 200 plate appearances. Just for context, Junior Caminero (Rays) had a 147 wRC+ in 2022 over 154 plate appearances before being promoted to Low-A. Arias checks all the boxes this year: Power, speed and good shortstop defense.

Low-A Pitchers (min 15 IP)

Rank	Name	Team	Robo	RoboCast
1	Matt Wilkinson	CLE	100	100
2	Jonah Tong	NYM	91	95
3	Quinn Mathews	STL	85	94
4	Alejandro Rosario	TEX	84	93
5	Jarlin Susana	WSN	80	92
6	Santiago Suarez	TBR	79	90
7	Didier Fuentes	ATL	81	90
8	Grant Taylor	CHW	77	89
9	George Klassen	PHI	78	88
10	Travis Sykora	WSN	82	87
11	Eliazar Dishmey	MIA	73	86
12	Yujanyer Herrera	MIL	83	85
13	Sean Linan	LAD	84	84
14	Kohl Drake	TEX	82	82
15	Thomas White	MIA	72	82
16	Ovis Portes	BOS	70	81
17	Mavis Graves	PHI	85	80
18	Welinton Herrera	COL	69	79
19	Gary Gill Hill	TBR	78	79
20	Jace Kaminska	COL	74	79
21	Isaiah Lowe	SDP	67	79
22	Noble Meyer	MIA	67	78
23	Jackson Nezuh	HOU	66	77
24	Jose Gonzalez	TEX	70	77
25	Alimber Santa	HOU	66	77

It took 65 innings of a 1.20 WHIP, a 3.15 ERA and a strikeout-minus-walk rate of 27%, but 20-year old LHP Mavis Graves (Phillies) finally gets some ink spilt in these pages. Although he’s been deserving for some time, Graves was overshadowed in Clearwater by the louder stuff of teammate George Klassen—the newest member of the Los Angeles Angels.

Still, the 2022 sixth-rounder—with a name more like a Southern Gothic singer/songwriter than southpaw—throws a 91 mph four-seamer from a high slot and big extension. Graves also has a slider and changeup that both get over 50% whiffs. The stuff is solid enough, even if it isn’t overwhelming from a modern pitch design standpoint, and his surface stats portend a peak projection in the same cluster as Grant Taylor (White Sox), Kohl Drake (Rangers) and Yujanyer Herrera (Rockies by way of the Brewers). Graves is probably already rostered in your leagues given his solid results. If he isn’t, the big 6-foot-6 lefthander is definitely viable in leagues that roster 300 prospects.

High-A Hitters (min 50 PA)

Rank	Name	Team	Robo	RoboCast
1	Michael Arroyo	SEA	97	100
2	Luke Keaschall	MIN	93	98
3	Luke Adams	MIL	92	97
4	Sebastian Walcott	TEX	99	95
5	Lazaro Montes	SEA	100	95
6	Sal Stewart	CIN	85	92
7	Xavier Isaac	TBR	90	92
8	Carter Jensen	KCR	86	91
9	Josue De Paula	LAD	80	88
10	Alex Freeland	LAD	77	86
11	Samuel Zavala	CHW	82	86
12	Brayden Taylor	TBR	80	84
13	Mike Boeve	MIL	72	82
14	William Bergolla	PHI	81	82
15	Henry Bolte	OAK	76	82
16	Cooper Ingle	CLE	73	82
17	Cutter Coffey	BOS	77	81
18	C.J. Kayfus	CLE	70	80
19	Jhostynxon Garcia	BOS	70	79
20	Charles McAdoo	PIT	70	79
21	Yohendrick Pinango	CHC	72	79
22	Ricardo Olivar	MIN	69	78
23	Bryce Eldridge	SFG	71	77
24	Jefferson Rojas	CHC	71	77
25	Kristian Campbell	BOS	65	77

Josue De Paula (Dodgers) qualifies for the High-A list for the first time this season and immediately slots into the top 10 with a 153 wRC+, two home runs and four stolen bases over 71 plate appearances. With better than league average swing decisions, contact and quality of contact—all the more impressive because he will be a teenager until next May—the only knock against the sweet-swinging left hander is the fact that his defense may ultimately relegate him to a DH-only profile. Still, with the potential for a 60-hit, 60-power profile, he should be a no-doubt fantasy contributor.

High-A Pitchers (min 15 IP)

Rank	Name	Team	Robo	RoboCast
1	Noah Schultz	CHW	89	100
2	Quinn Mathews	STL	92	98
3	Matt Wilkinson	CLE	100	98
4	Luis Perales	BOS	87	98
5	Owen Murphy	ATL	90	97
6	Chase Dollander	COL	87	97
7	Alejandro Rosario	TEX	89	95
8	Zebby Matthews	MIN	82	92
9	George Klassen	PHI	80	88
10	Jonah Tong	NYM	87	88
11	K.C. Hunt	MIL	89	88
12	Kohl Drake	TEX	90	87
13	Thomas White	MIA	78	85
14	Alessandro Ercolani	PIT	74	85
15	Sean Sullivan	COL	89	84
16	Winston Santos	TEX	75	83
17	Jedixson Paez	BOS	92	83
18	Jaden Hamm	DET	84	83
19	Moises Chace	BAL	70	81
20	Brandyn Garcia	SEA	70	81
21	Austin Peterson	CLE	78	80
22	Edgar Portes	BAL	69	79
23	Lazaro Estrada	TOR	68	79
24	Ethan Pecko	HOU	78	79
25	Nolan McLean	NYM	68	79

Now that he qualifies for the list, Alejandro Rosario (Rangers) appears as the seventh pitcher in High-A with a 38% strikeout rate over 18.2 innings. The breakout righthander comes at hitters with a flat 97 mph four-seam fastball while his slider and changeup both get over 45% whiffs. RoboScout sees him as a midrotation starter with a potential for more. 

Double-A Hitters (min 50 PA)

Rank	Name	Team	Robo	RoboCast
1	Emmanuel Rodriguez	MIN	100	100
2	Agustin Ramirez	NYY	89	90
3	Luke Keaschall	MIN	86	89
4	Moises Ballesteros	CHC	88	87
5	Matthew Lugo	BOS	80	84
6	Ryan Clifford	NYM	84	84
7	Cole Young	SEA	82	82
8	Roman Anthony	BOS	78	80
9	Deyvison De Los Santos	ARI	82	80
10	Kristian Campbell	BOS	73	79
11	Carson Williams	TBR	79	79
12	Hao-Yu Lee	DET	78	79
13	Alex Freeland	LAD	72	78
14	Edgar Quero	CHW	76	78
15	C.J. Kayfus	CLE	73	78
16	Henry Bolte	OAK	75	76
17	Colby Thomas	OAK	70	74
18	Jacob Wilson	OAK	67	74
19	Samuel Basallo	BAL	83	74
20	Charles McAdoo	PIT	69	74
21	Marcelo Mayer	BOS	70	73
22	Tyler Locklear	SEA	66	73
23	Harry Ford	SEA	70	71
24	Dalton Rushing	LAD	62	71
25	Alejandro Osuna	TEX	67	71

Kristian Campbell (Red Sox) continues his ascent and enters the High-A top 10. His 206 wRC+ at Double-A is the highest among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances. Jacob Wilson (Athletics) had a 224 wRC+ but that was only over 93 plate appearances. As a result, Campbell has a fantasy peak projection that is not too dissimilar from Emmanuel Rodriguez (Twins). With excellent swing decisions, contact quality and better-than-average contact, Campbell is an easy top-50 fantasy prospect. With his underlying metrics, he feels like he is on the verge of going on a home run tear at any moment.

Last year, RoboScout was a fan of Javier Vaz (Royals) on account of his gifted bat-to-ball skills Lack of power was the main concern. His ISO still remains below .130 in 2024 and he only has six home runs in 338 plate appearances at Double-A. Interestingly, though, most of his power outburst has come in the last six weeks.

Since June 3, over 123 plate appearances Vaz has hit five of his six home runs to go along eight steals. That 146 wRC+ during this time, where his swinging strike rate has been lower than 4%, suggests a peak more akin to a 20/20 bat than a 12/12 bat. Keep a close eye on this one, as his defense, contact and speed gives him a high floor. If he is even a 15-home run bat, then he is a likely Top 100 fantasy prospect. Note though that neither his 90th percentile exit velocity, maximum exit velocity, xwOBAcon, or barrel rate has taken any meaningful step forward from his 2023 marks. This might just be a hot streak.

Double-A Pitchers (min 15 IP)

Rank	Name	Team	Robo	RoboCast
1	Zebby Matthews	MIN	100	100
2	Noah Schultz	CHW	98	100
3	Logan Henderson	MIL	97	92
4	Bubba Chandler	PIT	87	89
5	Braxton Ashcraft	PIT	90	87
6	Thomas Harrington	PIT	90	86
7	Tink Hence	STL	94	86
8	Jackson Jobe	DET	82	85
9	Ben Shields	NYY	87	84
10	Peter Van Loon	BAL	85	83
11	Jacob Misiorowski	MIL	79	83
12	Ben Casparius	LAD	80	82
13	Chandler Champlain	KCR	95	82
14	Blade Tidwell	NYM	79	81
15	Quinn Mathews	STL	82	81
16	Caden Dana	LAA	84	79
17	Carson Palmquist	COL	83	79
18	Austin Peterson	CLE	85	79
19	Troy Melton	DET	78	79
20	Zach Penrod	BOS	87	79
21	Kyle McGowin	CHC	82	78
22	Andrew Morris	MIN	86	78
23	Yilber Diaz	ARI	83	78
24	Brandon Young	BAL	89	78
25	Brandon Sproat	NYM	80	77

Brewers righthander Logan Henderson continues to be the biggest surprise on the Double-A rankings. Henderson is now up to third place, ahead of the Pittsburgh trio of Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft and Thomas Harrington. Although he has only thrown 34 innings this season, he has generated a 29.1% strikeout-minus-walk rate. That’s good enough for the fourth-highest mark in Double-A among starting pitchers who have thrown a minimum of 20 innings. On June 30, I described his 2024 arsenal—an ultra-flat 93 mph four-seamer, a changeup that had a called or swinging strike rate of 47% and an 84 mph bullet slider—and he has since utilized it to generate 25 strikeouts and a paltry three walks in 18 innings. RoboScout considers him extremely underrated.

Caden Dana (Angels) is a Top 100 Prospect and moved up six spots to himself inside the Double-A top 20. In his two Double-A starts since appearing in the Futures Game, Dana has thrown a complete game and struck out 18 while only walking one over a total of 14 innings. A physical righthander with a predominantly four-pitch mix, Dana pitch regularly in the Angels’ rotation starting in 2025.

Triple-A Hitters (min 50 PA)

Rank	Name	Team	Robo	RoboCast
1	James Wood	WSN	100	100
2	Jackson Holliday	BAL	95	94
3	Coby Mayo	BAL	88	92
4	Miguel Vargas	LAD	79	86
5	Kyle Manzardo	CLE	79	85
6	Jose Fermin	STL	76	85
7	Andy Pages	LAD	74	82
8	Adrian Del Castillo	ARI	72	81
9	Agustin Ramirez	NYY	75	79
10	Jacob Wilson	OAK	70	78
11	Moises Ballesteros	CHC	75	77
12	Angel Martinez	CLE	75	76
13	Niko Kavadas	BOS	66	76
14	Dillon Dingler	DET	69	76
15	Jonatan Clase	SEA	72	75
16	Matthew Lugo	BOS	67	74
17	Jordan Beck	COL	65	75
18	Shay Whitcomb	HOU	72	74
19	Luis Matos	SFG	65	74
20	Joey Loperfido	HOU	65	74
21	Chase Meidroth	BOS	65	73
22	Jace Jung	DET	70	73
23	Deyvison De Los Santos	ARI	78	72
24	Jhonkensy Noel	CLE	79	72
25	Orelvis Martinez	TOR	71	72

With five home runs in his last 19 plate appearances, there is no doubt that Dillon Dingler (Tigers) should make this upcoming week’s Hot Sheet. On the season the 25-year-old catcher now has 17 home runs and a wRC+ of 136 and enters top 15 after never previously gracing the list. That projects to be an above-average hitter with 20+ home runs in the major leagues, yet funnily enough he only ranks as the No. 4 catcher in Triple-A with those peak projections. Dingler is still behind Adrian Del Castillo (Diamondbacks), Agustin Ramirez (Marlins by way of Yankees) and Moises Ballesteros (Cubs). What I’m getting at is that the catching position will be solid in fantasy for the next decade.

Another former RoboScout friend, Buddy Kennedy—now of the Phillies—has hit three doubles and two home runs over his last four games and has a 190 wRC+ over his last 165 plate appearances. He has always been a hit-over-power minor leaguer, but the Phillies appear to have unlocked something since acquiring him from the Tigers. Kennedy’s .295 ISO with Triple-A Lehigh Valley is the highest of his minor league career at any level. It’s even higher than his 17-homer season in Double-A in 2021. Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott block Kennedy on the Phillies’ depth chart, but RoboScout is happy to see that the 25-year-old rejuvenated since joining the Phillies organization.

Triple-A Pitchers (min 15 IP)

Rank	Name	Team	Robo	RoboCast
1	Paul Skenes	PIT	100	100
2	Christian Scott	NYM	91	92
3	David Festa	MIN	88	81
4	Will Warren	NYY	79	81
5	Jack Leiter	TEX	77	80
6	Tylor Megill	NYM	80	79
7	Chayce McDermott	BAL	77	77
8	Carson Spiers	CIN	75	77
9	Tobias Myers	MIL	73	77
10	Yilber Diaz	ARI	79	76
11	Cade Povich	BAL	84	75
12	Chad Patrick	MIL	75	75
13	Elieser Hernandez	LAD	73	75
14	Braxton Ashcraft	PIT	75	75
15	Louie Varland	MIN	75	73
16	Alek Manoah	TOR	75	73
17	Quinn Priester	PIT	83	72
18	Slade Cecconi	ARI	77	72
19	Cristian Mena	ARI	79	72
20	AJ Smith-Shawver	ATL	70	71
21	Albert Suarez	BAL	74	71
22	Matt Manning	DET	67	70
23	Reid Detmers	LAA	83	70
24	Osvaldo Bido	OAK	70	68
25	Josh Winckowski	BOS	68	68

We mentioned a few weeks ago that Will Warren (Yankees) was doing his best to turn his season around after a forgettable early going. And now the 25-year-old has pushed himself into the top five. Although the 1.40 WHIP and 6.11 ERA doesn’t look particularly compelling, his xFIP is actually 3.93 with a 27% strikeout rate and his high ranking is quite representative of the fact that Triple-A pitching after Paul Skenes (Pirates) and Christian Scott (Mets) isn’t particularly intimidating, contributing to the perception that the jump for Triple-A hitters to the major leagues seems higher than ever.

Still, Warren’s 25% strikeout-minus-walk rate since June 3 is the fourth-highest by a starting pitcher. Considering he has averaged over five innings per start during that time, it’s quite probable the Yankees will call him up this season. Expect him to make a difference in redraft leagues, where he’s one of the last non-injury pitchers to have that potential.

Happy bidding!