Last Updated on June 3, 2025 2:06 pm by Paul Williamson | Published: June 3, 2025

This week’s grouping is full of surprises, including possibly the hottest stretch by any hitter in the minors this year – and it comes from a player who will eventually play half his games in Colorado. We’ve also got a pair of Red Sox prospects, one who seems primed to return to prospect prominence in a blaze of glory; the other a newly-minted Top-10 prospect in all of the minors as per one notable evaluator.

Finally, I profile the latest Dodgers prospects – yes, more than just one, again – to show signs of breakout, with one in particular showcasing his chances to be ranked as the team’s best before long.

Away we go!

The usual preamble;

This article will come out every two weeks, highlighting the ten most noteworthy performances for MiLB players during that window. The players discussed will come from a mix of levels (Triple-A, Low-A, etc.) and because of that, I will attempt to contextualize their statistics for both the quality of competition, as well as the player’s own age, to the best of my abilities. In other words, a 25-year old slugger going on a home run binge isn’t going to get my attention if they’re facing off against a 20-year-old pitcher on a daily basis. On the other hand, an 18-year-old holding their own against more advanced pitching is going to skyrocket them towards the top of the rankings very quickly.

Since we could go as deep into the minors as the Complex and Dominican Summer Leagues, this is intended as more of a companion article for deep dynasty leagues, as opposed to those that shallow enough to essentially just focus on players listed on Top 100 lists. This is more for the sickos who want to be able to brag about having the next Jesus Made or Jung Hoo Lee on their roster more than five years before they make their MLB debut.

That said, there’s a chance some of our mining leads to some true diamonds in the rough emerging – just look to what Kristian Campbell did last year for example. So with that in mind, I will have a specific section of each article that focuses on how the upper echelon of prospects is performing, in addition to geeking out over the future wave of breakout stars. And as we go through the season, I’ll denote each player written about as one of three categories;

Golden 🥇 (the best of the best)

Gems 💎 (exciting up-and-comers)

Unrefined ⚒ (has tools of interest)

As the weeks go by, I’ll track each player and how many times they appear in the article under each category in a chart at the bottom. Hopefully by year’s end we’ll then have rough ranking of the most interesting players from each tier as a guideline that you can then use for your own dynasty purposes!

Statistics are up to date as of June 2nd.

Ryan Ritter – SS/2B – COL🥇

Last 14 Days: .453/.492/1.057 – 8HR/0SB – .621 wOBA – .604 ISO – 259 wRC+ (AAA)

Season: .307/.416/.643 – 16HR/3SB – .451 wOBA – .337 ISO – 152 wRC+ (AAA)

In the dynasty world, everything is geared around the long-term, whether that be in prospect development or players’ aging curves. Small sample size performers are usually (rightly) dismissed until they’ve proven they’re not a flash in the pan. After all, we’ve seen countless others of their ilk come and go over the years.

With all that said, it is beyond impressive just how much Ryan Ritter has been able to boost his stock with his performance at Triple-A Albuquerque this season – more specifically, what he’s done over the past two weeks. The Rockies have exactly one player with eight or more home runs on the season and that’s Jordan Beck with exactly eight. On the other hand, Ritter has eight of his own in just the past two weeks! Granted, the Isotopes’ home park is one of the most hitter-friendly in all the minors but of course, he would get the most hitter-friendly venue in the majors so his baseline performance may not suffer much, if at all, upon promotion. It’s also worth remembering that wRC+ accounts for park factors, so his 152 wRC+ suggests he’s been an impressive hitter all season, no matter where the games were played.

Primarily known prior to this year for his strong fielding at shortstop, Ritter now seems to be coming into his own on both sides of the ball and should push Ezequiel Tovar for playing time before long. If his offense carries over even somewhat, he could end up pushing Tovar off the position entirely while claiming the “shortstop of the future” title for himself – especially since Tovar now carries a career .446 OPS across his first two seasons.

Though the Rockies don’t have a lot of talent around him, we saw what Troy Tulowitzki was able to do in Colorado with just Carlos Gonzalez at his side. Ritter doesn’t carry that same pedigree but could still be the next double-initialled shortstop to provide top-tier fantasy value for the Rox. If he’s not up this year because the Monforts are playing their usual service time game, expect him in the top-50 of prospect lists entering next season.

Gage Jump – SP – ATH 💎

Last 14 Days: 19.0 IP – 0.95 ERA/2.55 FIP/0.74 WHIP – 23:4 K:BB – 1 HR (AA)

Season: 56.0 IP – 1.61 ERA/2.04 FIP/0.82 WHIP – 74:10 K:BB – 2 HR (A+/AA)

Drafted out of LSU with the 73rd overall pick last year as a 22-year-old starter, Jump was sent to High-A to begin the season, where he began turning some heads by striking out 45 in 31 innings to the tune of a 2.32 ERA. Of course, being a college starter – particularly for LSU – means the difficulty of competition he faced previously skewed closer to the Double-A level at times, so prognosticators took a “wait and see” approach until he faced off against more challenging hitters.

Maybe he was saving his energy for when he really needed to prove himself, because Jump has thus far been even better upon his promotion. Since being promoted to Double-A, he’s given up just two runs in 25 innings over four starts. His excellent control metrics haven’t suffered any either, with a 23:4 K:BB rate over the last two weeks (19.0 innings). He’s also managed to consistently keep the ball in the yard, giving up just two home runs all season. Noticeably, his groundball rate is up almost 20-percent from his time at High-A, now sitting just above 50% at Double-A.

Command, as it often is for young starters, seemed to be the biggest question mark around Jump’s ability to find success in the majors as the lefty carries a solid three-pitch arsenal, led by a plus (60-grade) fastball. If he’s now turned into a groundball machine who barely walks anyone, he should eventually develop into at least a #4/5 starter in the majors and garner consideration for Top-100 lists en route to doing so.

Blaze Jordan – 3B/1B – BOS 💎

Last 14 Days: .436/.511/.744 – 3HR/2SB – .555 wOBA – .308 ISO – 254 wRC+ (AA)

Season: .320/.415/.513 – 6HR/3SB – .422 wOBA – .193 ISO – 166 wRC+ (AA)

Blaze Jordan is a prime example of the ups and downs that can come with evaluating a prospect as they rise through the minor leagues.

This isn’t even a case of prospect fatigue either, as Jordan didn’t slide down the rankings due to familiarity – he outright regressed at the plate. Or so it would seem. See, Jordan is another excellent reminder of the dangers of promoting a prospect too quickly. Though he hit just 13 home runs and carried a .695 OPS across 138 games at Double-A between 2023-2024, Jordan was in his age-20 and age-21 seasons during that time, making him several years younger than the average starter at the level. Even the most advanced hitters can sometimes plateau when pushed aggressively as they wait for their body to catch up to their mind and that seems to be the case for Jordan. Now 22-years-old, he’s 66-percent better than league-average at the plate and seems to be continuing to heat up with a 1.255 OPS over the past two weeks.

Though he’s been rejuvenated on offense, Jordan has started falling down the defensive spectrum and is now most likely to end up at first base. While that position would have been considered firmly blocked entering this year, the season-ending injury to Tristan Casas might open the question of whether the heir-apparent should be Blaze Jordan instead.

Eduardo Quintero – OF – LAD🥇

Last 14 Days: .365/.414/.654 –  2HR/9SB – .484 wOBA – .288 ISO – 180 wRC+ (A)

Season: .333/.427/.606 – 9HR/25SB – .476 wOBA – .272 ISO – 175 wRC+ (A)

The rich just keep getting richer (and richer… and richer…)

It felt at first that Roki Sasaki would be the prospect to make the biggest impact this season for the Dodgers – it now seems like that will be Dalton Rushing instead.

It felt at first that Zyhir Hope would break out and take the lead position for Dodgers prospects upon Sasaki’s graduation – it now seems like that will be Josue De Paula instead.

It felt at first that Mike Sirota would be the most noteworthy pop-up outfield prospect to rise up the team rankings – it now seems like that will be Eduardo Quintero.

Quintero, still just a precocious 18-year-old, made his way stateside in 2024, reaching Single-A towards the end of the season for 27 games. In those contests, he looked overmatched but not intimidated. Though he hit just .196 with a paltry .086 ISO and nary a home run, he had 18 walks to 22 strikeouts which showed some of his his budding potential. He’s carried that strong sense of the strike zone forward this year but has traded a few more whiffs for (a lot of) extra power as he is now striking out at 23.4% rate compared to 19.4% last season while raising his ISO almost 200 points, currently sitting at a mark of .272 in 44 games played.

A promotion to High-A before the end of the season is definitely in the cards at this point and could even happen in the next month. The jump to Double-A will prove more difficult for Quintero (don’t forget what I said above about Blaze Jordan), but for now the arrow is pointing straight up on yet another Dodgers outfielder.

Arjun Nimmala – SS – TOR🥇

Last 14 Days: .348/.466/.587 –  2HR/4SB – .470 wOBA – .239 ISO – 184 wRC+ (A+)

Season: .291/.382/.527 – 9HR/5SB – .411 wOBA – .236 ISO – 146 wRC+ (A+)

I made a reference to one of my favorite fantasy players of all time – Troy Tulowitzki – earlier in this article but, removing the organizations from the equation, I think Nimmala is even more of a spiritual successor to Tulo than Ryan Ritter may be.

You don’t see 70-grade power on shortstops very frequently these days, as the ability to field and be reliable with the glove has seemingly been prioritized to a higher degree than ever before when it comes to the six-spot on defense. That usually pairs with speed, and thus stolen bases. Nimmala, on the other hand, is a slightly below-average defender, whose size may eventually push him to third base – but for now, he’s holding on as a shortstop who has a legitimate chance to peak above 30+ home runs in his prime.

A prodigious slugger’s strikeout rate is always the first thing I keep an eye on and, so far, there are no concerns surfacing. Nimmala is striking out at just a 17.5% rate, while making contact 76.1% of the time – a six percent improvement from his time at Single-A in 2024. This is a budding Top-25 prospect and someone I won’t likely be able to write about for much longer. If you still have the chance to scoop him up in your keeper or dynasty league, make that move as soon as possible.

Franklin Arias – SS – BOS 💎

Last 14 Days: .489/.489/.667 –  0HR/2SB – .528 wOBA – .178 ISO – 223 wRC+ (A+)

Season: .361/.408/.476 – 2HR/7SB – .417 wOBA – .115 ISO – 150 wRC+ (A/A+)

I thought I was one of the biggest believers in the Prospect-o-sphere when it came to Arias but it seems I was beat to the punch by Keith Law of The Athletic, who recently released his updated Top-50 prospect rankings and had Arias coming in at 8th overall. Admittedly, even I think that’s an aggressive ranking but one thing is certain nonetheless – Arias is a prospect worth getting familiar with.

Over the past two weeks, the 19-year-old Arias has done his best Bruno Mars impression, dropping nothing but hit after hit after hit. You may notice that he also didn’t walk once, but he also struck out just twice, exemplifying his extreme profile. See, Arias in his current form is basically the minor leagues’ Luis Arraez. Since being promoted to High-A earlier this year, Arias has played in 26 games. In those 26 games, he’s struck out nine times (7.5%) and has walked seven times (5.8%). Of course, there’s no point in walking when you’re hitting .372 with a 91.9% contact rate, so he can be forgiven for not following in the shoes of Red Sox legend Kevin Youkilis – aka The Greek God of Walks (for those too young to remember).

The other eye-catching statistic comes in the home run department, where he was shut out during our two-week window but not to worry, all the recent reports suggest that Arias is expected to grow into further power as he matures and that power is likely to play up from its natural level due to his preternatural ability to make quality contact. He could experience a similar surge in power out of the blue like Kristian Campbell did before him – something Law seems to be bullish on occurring, considering his ranking.

Trey Yesavage – SP – TOR 💎

Last 14 Days: 12.1 IP – 1.46 ERA/3.11 FIP/1.05 WHIP – 24:10 K:BB – 1 HR (A+)

Season: 45.2 IP – 2.17 ERA/2.60 FIP/0.88 WHIP – 79:18 K:BB – 4 HR (A/A+)

Arjun Nimmala has more-or-less sealed up his place atop the rankings of Blue Jays farmhands entering next season but Yesavage is making a strong case for himself as the next man up as climbs the minor leagues – and rockets up the rankings.

Selected 20th overall by Toronto in the 2024 draft, Yesavage was a two-year starter in the NCAA but came to camp this year at just 21-years-old, making him primed to overpower his minor league opponents. Overpower he did, striking out 55 in his first 33.1 innings at Single-A before forcing his way to High-A. There, he’s been even better, striking out nearly two batters an inning over his first three starts. That has come at the expense of some wildness, as Yesavage has walked 10 in those 12.1 innings but he carried a 2.16 BB/9 at Single-A so he should find a happy medium for both metrics before long.

Armed with four pitches that all grade out as average or better, Yesavage is one of the rare young hurlers who doesn’t face an outsized chance of being relegated to the bullpen if they don’t show the immediate ability to command their weapons. While the old adage of “there is no such thing as a pitching prospect” certainly applies to any pitcher who has yet to reach the upper-minors, Yesavage presents as a fairly safe asset, without a notable injury history, that’s worthwhile investing in.

Christian Zazueta – SP – LAD ⚒

Last 14 Days: 11.2 IP – 0.77 ERA/2.51 FIP/0.86 WHIP – 12:1 K:BB – 0 HR (A)

Season: 47.1 IP – 2.09 ERA/4.52 FIP/0.99 WHIP – 52:11 K:BB – 6 HR (A)

Let’s dive a little deeper into the prospect pool now, where the Dodgers seem to once again have developed an interesting player. At least this time it’s not another outfielder!

Acquired from the Yankees last year in the Caleb Ferguson trade, Zazueta may not carry the flashiest profile when it comes to strikeout upside but when it comes to run prevention, there are few who have performed better in 2025. Based on his 52:11 strikeout to walk rate, one would assume command to be his calling card – and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs certainly agrees, giving him a grade of 60 – the highest mark in his profile. He rounds said profile out with a 55-grade Fastball, 50-grade Slider and 55-grade Changeup, giving him three quality pitches to work with and a solid chance at sticking in the rotation.

And though a 4.52 FIP sticks out like a sore thumb in his statline, it comes due to six home runs allowed so if he shows some positive regression there, he may have even more ERA upside. Once again, the rich get progressively richer.

Jesus Baez – SS/3B/2B – NYM ⚒

Last 14 Days: .433/.558/.700 – 2HR/0SB – .547 wOBA – .267 ISO – 243 wRC+ (A+)

Season: .268/.359/.395 – 5HR/6SB – .355 wOBA – .127 ISO – 122 wRC+ (A/A+)

A well-regarded prospect since being signed out of the Dominican Republic at 16-years-old, Baez has climbed his way to High-A and has begun delivering on some of the promise surrounding him, heating up over the past several weeks after being promoted to High-A despite hitting .217 in his time at Single-A.

Whatever the Mets saw in his output to challenge him with a promotion was apparently prescient as Baez is hitting .276/.367/.425 since arriving at High-A and just put together a 1.258 OPS over the past two weeks – a number buoyed by only two home runs, meaning he was knocking out extra-base hits left and right, just not as many left the park.

Not all international signings are Ronald Acuna or Shohei Ohtani. Most are lower-level players who take an extended period to develop – if they ever develop at all. Baez seems to have finally found his footing though, giving him a credible shot at breaking in as a regular major leaguer.

Josue Briceño – C/1B – DET 💎

Last 14 Days: .333/.548/1.238-  6HR/1SB – .701 wOBA – .905 ISO – 332 wRC+ (A+)

Season: .262/.388/.608 – 12HR/1SB – .441 wOBA – .346 ISO – 170 wRC+ (A+)

I’ve spilt a fair bit of (digital) ink on the unpredictability of catchers, especially those still in the prospect ranks, so while it’s not necessarily a surprise that Briceño has suddenly broken out, the level to which he’s done so is incredibly impressive.

The 20-year-old backstop entered this season with just two home runs in 51 games above the complex leagues but has absolutely smashed that number in 2025, hitting 12 in 36 games while being bumped up to High-A for the first time. What’s even more wild is that half of those came in the last two weeks – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a .905 ISO over a two week span before, outside of a casual scroll through the Baseball Reference pages of Aaron Judge or Barry Bonds.

Of course, this is just a 14-day stretch but it’s now pushed him to 70-percent better than league average on offense, all while being a young-for-the-level catcher. The attrition rate of catchers is high and many don’t end up providing their promised level of hitting prowess once they face the rigors of catching at the major league level but the list of catchers I believe in more than Briceño is rapidly dwindling.

Yanquiel Fernández – OF – COL ⚒

Last 14 Days: .357/.426/.548 –  1HR/0SB – .432 wOBA – .190 ISO – 140 wRC+ (AAA)

Season: .250/.325/.439 – 8HR/0SB – .339 wOBA – .189 ISO – 81 wRC+ (AAA)

If Yanquiel Fernández were not previously ranked on Top-100 lists, this line wouldn’t necessarily be worth mentioning but Fernández was – and notably still calls Coors Field as his future home.

Though he’s still six months from his 23rd birthday, Fernández is now in his second tour of duty through Triple-A and while his 81 wRC+ is nothing to write home about, it’s a stark improvement from the mark of 34 he managed in 31 games last season. He’s also seen his ISO rebound closer to his previous levels, carrying his highest mark in the category since he posted a .286 ISO at High-A in 2023 – the performance that put him on the radar of evaluators and prospect hounds alike.

Those evaluators do not take the Coors factor into consideration when doing their rankings, so Fernández’s performance won’t be nearly enough to earn himself a place among other Top-100 candidates but for those of us focused solely on fantasy, this return to form should pique your interest. Watch carefully in case he follows in the footsteps of teammate Ryan Ritter.

Travis Sykora – SP – WSH💎

Last 14 Days: 11.0 IP – 0.00 ERA/0.85 FIP/0.36 WHIP – 20:2 K:BB – 0 HR (A/A+)

Season: 19.0 IP – 0.47 ERA/0.85 FIP/0.47 WHIP – 38:5 K:BB – 0 HR (A/A+)

For those patient enough to hang on during Sykora’s return from hip labrum surgery, it’s been well worth the wait.

The 6’6″ tall righty gave preview to his ability to dominate hitters during his debut in 2024, striking out 129 in 85 innings at Single-A but managed just two starts and eight innings before needing to go under the knife. He’s wasted no time in shredding batters once more, striking out 20 in 11 innings while not allowing a single run to cross home plate.

With a pair of 60-grade pitches in his slider and splitter, Sykora has two offerings that will provide him plenty of strikeout upside and it will only be his ability to build up his workload once more that holds him back from finding himself among the ranks of the elite pitchers still in the minors.

Top Prospect Notes:

Jac Caglianone finally received his long-rumored call-up after mashing 15 home runs across 50 games between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A. He improved at each stop and could simply continue his prodigious power-hitting ways at the major league level too… Cole Young didn’t display much power at Triple-A this year but did carry a 125 wRC+ as a 21-year-old, showcasing his rare talent level for hitting. His first career game also ended in storybook fashion with a walkoff RBI… Roman Anthony on the other hand has not yet received the call to try his trade in the majors, hitting .239 with a .832 OPS over the past two weeks, with a strong 12:10 K:BB ratio. That represents a down period for him, but he’s ready any time… Marcelo Mayer was instead the Red Sox prospect to earn a promotion, though his came at the expense of Alex Bregman’s placement on the injured list. Mayer hit nine home runs in 43 games at Triple-A but has struck out 31.3% of the time in the majors so far, without a home run to show for his efforts. He could face demotion once Bregman is healthy… Jordan Lawlar finds himself in a similar position as Mayer, having now been demoted back to Triple-A after not managing a single hit in 22 plate appearances. He struck out 40.9% of the time during his debut and could probably use some more seasoning in the minors, despite carrying a 139 wRC+ at Triple-A this season… Bubba Chandler struck out 13 over his last 11.1 innings with just two earned runs allowed. He’s also very nearly ready, if not currently…. Jacob Misiorowski had a bit of a blowout in his last turn through the rotation, giving up a season-high six walks over two innings. He managed to avoid giving up any home runs but he did allow six runners to score and struck out just two. Nothing to be particularly concerned about at this point as Misiorowski’s profile makes him prone to the occasional poor outing… Chase Burns on the other hand seems to be immune to such outings, giving up just two runs over his last three starts, spanning 16 innings. He’s given up more than one run in an outing just once and has struck out 69 in 46.2 innings. He’ll be challenging for the title of #1 pitcher prospect in the near future… Kevin McGonigle managed just one home run over the past two weeks but his performance was still surprisingly noteworthy. The Tigers middle-infielder tallied an outrageous 1.449 OPS on the strength of a 26.2 BB% compared to a 7.1-percent strikeout rate while hitting .516. Though he lacks huge fantasy upside, he should be an everyday shortstop or second baseman for years to come…

Other Names Of Note: Alex Freeland (LAD), Leonardo Bernal (STL), Zach Thornton (NYM), Ty Johnson (TB), Connelly Early (BOS)

Golden 🥇		Gems 💎		Unrefined ⚒
Player	Rankings	Player	Rankings	Player	Rankings
Nick Kurtz	1	A.J. Ewing	2	Brandon Young	1
Roman Anthony	1	Sean Linan	2	Tim Tawa	1
Zyhir Hope	1	Jonah Tong	1	J.T. Ginn	1
Jacob Misiorowski	1	Chase Meidroth	1	Drew Waters	1
Moisés Ballesteros	1	Jacob Misiorowski	1	Ian Seymour	1
Lazaro Montes	1	Maximo Acosta	1	Darell Hernaiz	1
Luis Morales	1	Noelvi Marte	1	A.J. Ewing	1
Jonah Tong	1	Zac Veen	1	Tzu-Chen Sha	1
Ryan Ritter	1	Jarlin Susana	1	Wei-En Lin	1
Eduardo Quintero	1	Moisés Ballesteros	1	Asbel Gonzalez	1
Arjun Nimmala	1	Robbie Snelling	1	Luis Peña	1
		Arjun Nimmala	1	Henry Bolte	1
		Luis Peña	1	Yohendrick Pinango	1
		Wei-En Lin	1	Eduardo Quintero	1
		Konnor Griffin	1	Yanquiel Fernández	1
		Gage Jump	1	Jesus Baez	1
		Blaze Jordan	1	Christian Zazueta	1
		Franklin Arias	1
		Trey Yesavage	1
		Josue Briceño	1
		Travis Sykora	1

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