SS Joey Ortiz: Ortiz recently made his big-league debut with the Orioles, though he was returned to the minors after only three games. No matter, he earns a spot here because he's posted an average exit velocity of 94.5 mph this season in Triple-A. Ortiz has hit .337/.367/.528 in the minors this season, and he's a well-regarded defender to boot. It's just a matter of time before he finds a full-time spot in the majors.2
SS Marcelo Mayer: We've been fans of Mayer's dating back to his draft year, when we had him as the No. 1 prospect in the class. Almost two years later, we're taking some liberties to highlight his .996 OPS in High-A, where he's squaring off against opponents who are on average two years his senior. We don't have much else to say about that figure other than this: Mayer is a tremendous prospect. 3
RHP Cristian Mena: Mena is in the midst of a breakout season. Through five Double-A starts, he's averaging 15.12 strikeouts and 2.16 walks per nine innings. That'll play. Mena won't celebrate his 21st birthday until the week of Christmas, but it's probably within reason to think of him as a candidate to impact the White Sox's rotation as soon as next season. Who knows, maybe he'll even make his debut later this year.4
4C Jhonkensy Noel: That's "4C," as in "four corners." Noel has primarily played right field this season, but he has experience at both infield corners and in left field, too. (That isn't to say you'd want him at third base, mind you.) He hasn't played well this season overall, posting a .727 OPS in his first 31 games. We're highlighting him anyway because he's only 21 years old and he has immense raw power. Need evidence? Consider that more than 70% of his batted balls against lefties this season have had an exit velocity of 95 mph or better. If he can improve his approach and/or make more consistent contact (neither a given) he could serve as an intriguing platoon piece.5
RHP Brenan Hanifee: Hanifee, who joined the Tigers organization on a minor-league contract over the winter, is another player who isn't necessarily performing well by traditional measures. (He has a 4.66 ERA and a 2.45 strikeout-to-walk ratio in seven starts.) Hanifee has an unusual delivery and he doesn't throw all that hard, but he's included here because he's sporting a 47% whiff rate on his changeup. The Tigers have nothing to lose, so it might be worth their while to give him an audition as a reliever late in the season, just to see if maybe there's something here.6
LHP Trey Dombroski: A fourth-round pick last year by way of Monmouth University, Dombroski showcased excellent control as an amateur but scouts questioned his raw stuff. While it's too early to know for sure about his viability as a big-league arm, we feel comfortable saying that he's cooking against A-ball competition. In five appearances, he's struck out 33 of the 88 batters he's faced (that's 37.5%). We reckon that sooner or later he'll move up the ladder. We'll see if his K rate goes with him.7
OF Dairon Blanco: Some contender needs to trade for Blanco this deadline in order to deploy him as their designated pinch-runner come the postseason. He's a 30-year-old outfielder who made his big-league debut last season and who compares favorably to former Royal Terrance Gore. Blanco isn't going to hit enough to play often, but he can really run. He's succeeded on 17 of 18 stolen-base tries this season already, and there's no reason for the Royals to hoard him considering their record.8
INF Michael Stefanic: Stefanic has already beaten the odds, in a sense. He originally joined the Angels as an undrafted free agent from Westmont College (in California), yet last season he was able to crack the majors and make his big-league debut. Whatever happens from here is gravy. Stefanic has one great skill as a ballplayer, and that's putting the bat on the ball. This season, he's made contact on more than 95% of the swings he's taken on pitches within the strike zone. That's an absurd rate, and one that could help push him back into the majors if/when the Angels need an infielder.9
SS Brooks Lee: As with Mayer earlier in the piece, we're reaching a bit to highlight Lee, one of our favorites from last year's draft. Our stat of choice this time? His 11 doubles out of 30 total hits versus Double-A competition. Lee is more than holding his own so far, even if you'd ideally like to see a better strikeout-to-walk ratio than his 20-to-9 measure. That said, it's important to recall he's only 25 games into his first pro season. Provided Lee stays healthy and hitting, don't be surprised if he makes his big-league debut either later this year (to help with a playoff push) or early next.10
RHP Barrett Loseke: Loseke is a short, 26-year-old reliever with a low-90s fastball and a walk rate over five per nine innings. But, with all that established, we swear to you that he's more interesting than the preceding description suggests. That's because he achieves a 12:17 release tilt on his fastball, or close to a perfect amount of backspin -- that would be 12:00, for those wondering. In turn, he generates more than 20 inches of induced vertical break, putting him among the leaders in the category. The Yankees have been ravaged by injuries and it seems likely that, at some point this season, they'll give Loseke a chance to prove his heater can work in The Show. 11
RHP Royber Salinas: The A's acquired Salinas from the Braves as part of the Sean Murphy trade. His overall statistics aren't necessarily dazzling (he has a 4.71 ERA through six Double-A starts), but we're focusing on the positive here. That is, his 28.7% strikeout-minus-walk percentage. Most evaluators we've spoken to believe Salinas is heading to the bullpen -- he's averaging fewer than four innings per outing -- where he can wreak havoc with his fastball-breaking ball combination. The A's as of right now have no reason to hasten that transition, in our estimation. 12
1B Mike Ford: We don't know if Ford will get another big-league shot. He'll celebrate his 31st birthday on Independence Day and he hasn't impressed in 151 career games. Still, he's doing his best to make it happen. In 30 Triple-A contests this year, he's batting .343/.463/.704 with nine home runs and seven more walks than strikeouts. That's a .361 ISO. For reference (and not comparison, since it's not an apples-to-apples situation), that's about even with Barry Bonds' mark in 1999, when he homered 34 times in 102 games as a member of the Giants.13
RHP Trevor Brigden: You may have seen a little of Brigden back during the World Baseball Classic, when he was a member of Team Canada. If not, oh well, don't fret about it. Brigden is on the older side (he's 27) and he's not exactly lighting up Triple-A (4.50 ERA, 1.92 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 18 innings). He's here because he has an absolute riser of a fastball. Indeed, he generates nearly 21 inches of induced vertical break, putting him among the tops in that category among Triple-A pitchers. Now, whether Brigden ever harnesses it enough to pitch in the majors is to be seen, but there's a reason why the Rays have kept him around for as long as they have despite a meager initial investment (he was their 17th rounder back in 2019).14
RHP Fernery Ozuna: Ozuna is a converted infielder who is now an undersized reliever with a fastball that can touch into the mid-90s. Predictably, given that this is only his third season pitching, his command is not good. He's walked eight batters in 11 innings to date against Triple-A competition, and that nearly represents an upgrade over what he did at the level last year. We're including Ozuna because he's generated a 41% whiff rate on pitches located in the zone. Even if you remove the "in-zone" caveat -- for, you know, obvious reasons -- Ozuna's fastball has a 48% whiff rate overall. We're not optimistic that he'll ever have a good enough handle to pitch meaningful innings in the majors, but it would make for a cool story if he did.15
RHP Nate Pearson: Pearson made it back to the majors before we could write about his minor-league stats. We're doing it anyway by noting that he dominated Triple-A hitters, to the extent that he punched out 16 of the 35 he faced. To take it a step further, Pearson generated a 49.2% whiff rate. In other words, batters came up empty on nearly half the swings they took against his pitches. We'll see if Pearson's success translates to the majors (so far so good), but that's a very promising sign.
